Obama proposes tapping oil stockpiles

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

LANSING, Mich. — Barack Obama put forward a broad energy plan Monday designed to end U.S. reliance on imported oil within 10 years and shore up his standing amid a tightening White House race and high-anxiety over gas prices.

Obama's new proposal, though, includes two significant reversals of positions he has taken in the past: He had steadfastly fought the idea of limited new offshore drilling and was against tapping the nation's emergency oil stockpile to relieve pump prices that have stubbornly hovered around $4 a gallon.

Not only did Obama push for drawing from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, he also reiterated his changing position on offshore drilling — first revealed last Friday — suggesting that he could live with it if done in an environmentally sound way and as part of a bipartisan energy compromise.

In a speech in Michigan, the Democratic presidential nominee in waiting also endorsed long-term work on hybrid cars and renewable energy sources.

"Breaking our oil addiction is one of the greatest challenges our generation will ever face," the Illinois Democrat told a supportive audience as he embarked on a week to focus on energy issues. "It will take nothing less than a complete transformation of our economy," he said.



Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/5923267.html

[Tyler Durden]

1. Honest and Truly, I'm REALLY TRYING to like this guy....

And every time I get close, he changes a position. I'm trying very hard, people, whether you believe it or not. But he is NOT making it easy.

[Lorien]

2. I know how you feel

I truly do. And I wish that I didn't. :-(

[CrazyDude]

30. The Democratic position has been to open up the oil reserves for some time

n/t

[babylonsister]

34. Do you have a link or are you just guessing? nt

[CrazyDude]

35. I have multiple links

http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/08/news/pelosi_oil/index.htm?postversion=2008070822 Pelosi on SPR

http://nyc.theoildrum.com/story/2006/4/30/2338/81244 I disagree with this analysis of Schumer's position

[babylonsister]

36. Pelosi on SPR, I remember that one, and the advice. I still am

not informed enough; my own fault.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3583610&mesg_id=3583610

[Pastiche423]

45. Same here

[scarface2004]

3. whatever dude!

hey b o, you don't have to pander so much...screw the right wing wack jobs, they will never vote for you. the answer to our energy problem is simple, drive less, drive higher mileage vehicles, ride a bicycle, motorcycle or scooter if and when possible. the price of gas goes up and down like a yoyo so don't promise miracles...stick to your core beliefs man!

[Angleae]

4. Tapping the SPR won't do much.

Not enough oil in there, about 500-600 million barrels. And they will want to refill it later.

[Demeter]

24. Just the Threat Of Tapping Those Reserves Dropped the Oil Price Like a Stone

This is a shot across Big Oil's bow and the speculators' bows and they lowered their colors and prepared to be boarded. I expect great positive changes will continue, now that Obama has their measure.

[Angleae]

39. Threatening to tap it without actually doing so

is much like the boy crying wolf. It only works a couple of times before being ignored.

[aimee]

5. The definition of politics is it's the art of compromise...

If I am reading his statement right, he is saying that to get the kind of investments necessary for alternative energy, it took agreeing to some off-shore drilling... I think he is just trying to compromise to get what he really wants... He is a facilitator and that is what they do to get things done... The only alternative is gridlock which means doing nothing and who needs more of that...

Aimee

[Tyler Durden]

8. Really, no offense, but Pickens is there....

...and he isn't asking for drilling or the oil reserve. Obama does not have to do this the "easy" way: he's getting bad advice.

[aimee]

14. Obama and Pickens are in different situations...

Pickens is not in a position to vote on any kind of energy plan... Obama is, and he is saying that the compromise bill that the "10" in Congress have come up with is something that he could live with... Pickens is suggesting what he would like to see done and I agree that oil drilling is not a reasonable answer, but Obama has the power to vote on decisions being made now....not just what he would "like to see" being done... There is a difference...

[newfie11]

21. T. Boone was on a talk show last week

pushing his wind power but he also stated he was for drilling in Anwar and off shore. He hasn't given it up all together.

[babylonsister]

32. No link? Too bad: I'd like to see his opinion on ANWR/off shore

drilling. His commercials haven't indicated he's for it.

[newfie11]

37. I am sorry I can't remember what talk show it was but

here is a link with him saying the same thing.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/22/t-boone-pickens-more-bull_n_114383.html

[carp]

6. Error, you get about 20 gallons of gas from a barrel, not 5 gallons.

This drops your 800,000 to 200,000.

[CrazyDude]

31. You get 42

Mathematically

[muriel_volestrangler]

38. There's 42 gallons of crude oil in a barrel; 20 is a typical figure for gasoline from it

with other products from it too (diesel, kerosene, heavy fuel oil, etc.) See eg http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/eng99/eng99288.htm

[Phoonzang]

7. The media's spinning it as a flip flop.

I guess he should just stop laying out his policies. I mean no matter what he says it's going to be called a flip flop.

[Tyler Durden]

9. Or, stick to his guns.

He'll get more respect that way, from the people he needs to respect him.

[Phoonzang]

11. I wonder if he consults his advisors before he

comes out with a new proposal. I wonder if there's somewhere there to say "McCain will spin this a flip flop, don't do it".

[Tyler Durden]

12. Even if he believes this move is best, it's a bad move politically.

He WILL be called a flip flopper. Guaranteed.

[nedbal]

10. also endorsed long-term work on hybrid cars and renewable energy sources.

wow what a new fresh idea


DIDN'T McCain push this like a month ago


this is sad , sad

[Jefferson23]

13. why does Obama seem to want to increase Nader's percent?

I guess the Gore/ Nader thing was hard for me. If Gore could have only encouraged that Nader vote to vote Gore! I think I just don't want to see Obama lose for any reason, I think will lose my mind if McCain wins.

[ben_meyers]

15. No sooner does he say this

then Bush pushes the price of crude down 5 dollars a barrel today! Sometimes you just can't win for trying.

[ihavenobias]

16. We should NOT dip into our oil reserves...

We're very hungry, but we aren't starving.

Those reserves should be locked up unless we have some kind of Mad-Mad scenario.

[The Croquist]

41. Agreed

The strategic reserve is to protect us from a cut off of oil imports. That hasn't happened. If we were short-sighted enough to drain the reserves, what do we do next?

I also don't buy that just talk of tapping them dropped oil prices "like a rock". They've been dropping for a while.

[Xenocrates]

17. The SPR can only pump OUT a max 4 million bbl a day

And this is raw crude. About half is sweet, ie easy to refine, while the other half is sour, has much much more sulfur in it. It won't affect prices in the slightest.

I've always considered the SPR as a military reserve before any of us might get any benefit from it. Japan has the second largest SPR, and they learned the hard lesson of running out of oil in times of war.

[smiley_glad_hands]

18. I'm not a purist. I believe in compromise when done with good intentions.

[AmyCamus]

19. Why end buying oil from Canada and Mexico? We get twice as from them than from the Saudis.

"Barack Obama put forward a broad energy plan Monday designed to end U.S. reliance on imported oil within 10 years"

What's wrong with buying from them?

[ohio2007]

20. in return, we sell them the refined gasoline products much like Europe does w/ Iran

its still an imbalance.
It is time to end U.S. reliance on imported oil and rape China with selling them oil to balance trade everyone seems to be whining about.

[tidy_bowl]

22. Obama needs....

.....to get back to the positions that served him well in the primaries. He needs to say NO to the FISA immunity, NO to offshore drilling and say YES to public financing. Once he does he will have the electorate behind him as a solid leader. This 'nuancing' is just giving ammo to his detractors.

[defendandprotect]

23. Release the oil reserves . . and end this oil industry war on Americans --- !!!

[Skink]

25. Once the military is goes to all Hybrid power we won't need the reserves

[ileus]

27. solar F-15's on order...

[ileus]

26. as he should....

[Imagevision]

28. Americans can expect a drop of oil in a whopping 7 years, we want prices to drop fu*king NOW!

[The Croquist]

40. Planning for the future is a good thing

Do you recommend kids drop out of school after 5th grade because they won't need a diploma for 7 years?

[DLnyc]

29. Some people may want to listen to the actual speech.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x165497

In a 33-minute speech laying out a clear and bold plan to move our country away from oil addiction, at the same time providing jobs and fighting global warming, the media takes out a small sound-bite where he is laying out some short-term measures that could ALSO be taken, including SWAPPING (not just selling) some of the reserves.

But who has time for facts when spin is so much easier to grab onto?

[babylonsister]

33. As SCE would say, c'mere you.

:* Those damnable facts!

[legin]

42. Death to the SPR !

It is the most agressive weapon in the u.s. arsenal.

You can take out any oil-producing country (except Saudi Arabia and Russia), and if that country retaliates in it's only way possible by cutting off it's oil supply, then you can easily make up the lost production. e.g. you have about 300 days of Iranian oil supply.

Making yourself immune from attack really opens up your options (agressively).

[legin]

43. e.g. The long walls from Athens to it's port, Piraeus

(snip)

With the building of the Long Walls, Athens essentially became an island within the mainland, in that no strictly land based force could hope to capture it.<6> (In ancient Greek warfare, it was all but impossible to take a walled city by any means other than starvation and surrender.) Thus, Athens could rely on her powerful fleet to keep her safe in any conflict with other cities on the Greek mainland.

The walls were completed in the aftermath of the Athenian defeat at Tanagra, in which a Spartan army defeated the Athenians in the field but was unable to take the city because of the presence of the city walls; seeking to secure their city even against siege, the Athenians completed the long walls; and, hoping to prevent all invasions of Attica, they also seized Boeotia, which, as they already controlled Megara, put all approaches to Attica in friendly hands.<7> For most of the First Peloponnesian War, Athens was indeed unassailable by land, but the loss of Megara and Boeotia at the end of that war forced the Athenians to turn back to the long walls as their source of defense.

(snip)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Walls

[The Croquist]

44. I hope you are kidding.

That is ridiculous. The fact that the United States has an emergency supply of oil is "the most aggressive weapon in the u.s. arsenal"? Have you ever heard of nuclear weapons?

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is an insurance policy. Insurance policies are not aggressive.

I lock my door at night. Is that a sign of aggression?