I've never been on the Webb for VP bandwagon, but I know a lot of people are. This should give them something to think about.
Sen John Warner (R-Va) has re-introduced a bill to allow drilling off the shore of Virginia. And this time he has a Democrat for co-sponsor:
Sen. Warner renews ocean-drilling push
Although Warner's bill has been blocked for years, the Republican senator tried again Wednesday as he introduced his measure with Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., as a co-sponsor.
I know that Webb's support is all about state politics and bringing business dollars into Virginia, and that this bill covers only the Virginia shore. But this is a high-visibility, emotionally-charged issue. Obama and most Democrats, along with oil industry experts, logically point out that increasing offshore drilling won't impact pump prices for at least 20 years. They also point out that the federal moratorium on increased offshore drilling that has been in place for almost 30 years has decreased the environmental hazards to wildlife and to humans.
Meanwhile, Republicans (and now, Webb), pander to the under-informed (thanks to the MSM) voters who are feeling the painful pinch in their pocketbooks and are clamoring for the government to "do something!" Drilling off the shore of Virginia will do nothing to decrease pump prices. It will, however, make it easier to allow drilling in other coastal waters. Webb's co-sponsorship of this bill allows McCain and the Republicans to claim bipartisan support for their efforts to "help the American consumers", while they line the pockets of the oil companies. Obama is left looking like an obstructionist for opposing such a "common sense" solution.
Just like the gasoline tax holiday, this is a quick fix that fixes nothing. Webb should know better than to undermine Obama on this sensitive issue, regardless of home state pressure.