OK, everybody who cares about the planet was naturally upset when our Dear Leader proposed opening up vast tracts of the US continental shelf for oil and gas exploration.
But two days later, guess what? The EPA and Department of Transportation set mandates for fuel efficiency that will significantly reduce the need for new oil.
More below the fold...
During the campaign, the Republicans made "Drill, baby, drill" into one of their more mindless slogans. So naturally, at first glance, the opening of the new drilling leases sounds like a capitulation.
But remember that during the campaign, the Democrats made the case that new off-shore drilling would be too little, too late. Not only that, but the oil companies weren't even bothering to explore and exploit the leases they already had in hand. The oilmen are motivated by profit, and politics serves the bottom line, not the other way around.
So Obama could go ahead and offer all the off-shore drilling you want, but it's pretty clear that little or none would actually happen.
Meanwhile, the Republicans have been robbed of their energy mantra, and left to sputtering something about how he didn't open up everything to drilling. That would translate to "drill until it's dry, baby," or some other catchy slogan.
And now, just two days later, Obama announces that the EPA and the Department of Transportation have gone ahead and formulated the most stringent fuel efficiency regs ever!
The Obama administration finalized the first national rules curbing greenhouse gas emissions Thursday, mandating that the U.S. car and light-truck fleet reach an average fuel efficiency of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016.
The new fuel efficiency standards, issued by the Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency as the result of a May 2009 deal with the auto industry, represent a peaceful end to a contentious legal battle over how to regulate tailpipe emissions. At a time when it remains unclear whether Congress can pass climate legislation this year, the new rules also mark the White House's most significant achievement yet in addressing global warming.
So basically, he's moving away from a gasoline-based economy. Just like that.
But wait... that means the profit motive won't be there for the drilling, because there won't be a demand for the oil in 10 years or however long it will take to develop these news fields.
Once again, Obama has executed a brilliant pincer movement and surrounded the Republicans. They got nowhere left to go.
How on Earth did we ever manage to elect the smartest guy in the country? This, I wonder every day.