Good catch Mr. Owen.

this follows the old rule "If it sounds to good to be true then it probably is."

I agree with Picnic. There's a big difference, in the oil business, between 'exploration' and 'production'. You gotta find it before you produce it. And finding it takes time and lots of money. If Mr. Obama was serious about producing more oil in our own country, he would make an executive order allowing our oil companies to produce the huge proven reserves of oil and natural gas locked in the Barnett Field [Texas and Oklahoma] and the even bigger field in the upper Northeast.

No, this is just Obama bloviating for effect, to distract us from the bad news about the economy, the giant costs of the healthcare plan, and the damage his tampering and insults to Israel have created in the Middle East. Remember, he promised in his campaign to "bankrupt the coal companies". Currently, about 50% of electricity is produced by coal fired plants. Where will that leave us? Freezing in the dark, I guess.

Marianne Matthews

Not only is it intended to help Democrats in November and maybe himself in 2012, it wouldn't exactly surprise me if this wasn't intended to win over a few votes for his cap and trade bill, as well.

Never underestimate this guy. Nothing he does is for the good of freedom.

Well of course it's a sham. Those on the left understand that their leaders must, upon occasion, say things that are actually, well, rational, things that sane people would say and do. They understand that their leaders do not mean it, and that when the public heat dies down, it will all be forgotten.

In this case, Obama has in place in the federal bureaucracies, more than enough socialists to ensure that the permitting process moves at glacial pace, if that fast. In addition, he knows that all of his allies in the environmental and animal rights movements (and every other leftist organization) will file lawsuits that will keep any potential drilling tied up in red tape for decades. Notice also that he is suggesting drilling only offshore, where it is most difficult and expensive, rather than on more easily accessible and productive land-based fields.

But perhaps the best indicator that this is a sham is that Obama is doing nothing at all to clear away the innumerable federal and state obstacles that prevent the exploitation of domestic energy resources. Without repealing those, any attempt to drill is doomed to amount to little more than a trickle.

As always, the one sure way to know when Obama is lying is to actually see his lips moving.

But the eco-activists are feeling "betrayed". Oohh, the schadenfreude.

It is worse than a scam. It is the undefined promise of a potential maybe possible exploration in an area that might have oil, and at the same time the shutting down of proven oil reserves being drilled in Alaska.

We're giving up a dollar now, in exchange for the possibility of getting a nickle next decade.

The conspiracy theorist is me says that he agreed to this, along with concessions for a limited growth in nuclear power, to get the RINOs to buy off on the Cap&Tax bill when it comes before the Senate this year.

I agree that it's a sham, but a dangerous one that could get the Graham, McCain, and other RINOs to vote YES for Cap and Tax.

Tarheel Repub out!

The picture I got in mind seeing this was one of Skippy dangling a very shriveled carrot, wearing a grin, hoping to lure people in so he could swing away with the very large cap-n-tax club behind his back.

This ruse will not result in any oil production. He's lied too many times about too many things to believe otherwise. This is just a short term tactic to divide and obfuscate.

I'm thinking the list of morons that will fall for this includes Graham, Snowe, McCain, and many other 'can't we just get along to get something done' ijits on the Hill.

@Wind Rider. Thats easy to find out for sure. Call his bluff. Assuming it is a bait and switch before any deals are done, drill first. That should get his own so PO'd that it would not help his cause one little bit.

Didn't Bush lift the executive ban on offshore drilling in July '08? If Obama has "opened up" drilling, who closed it down between '08 and '10?

But times change, and on Tuesday, the Obama administration - with gas prices roughly half what they were and many Democrats' having been swept into office - blocked offshore drilling plans put in place at the last minute by the Bush administration, including plans to open the national outer continental shelf for drilling.

Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar also announced last week that his agency would block drilling on public lands in Utah, criticizing the Bush administration for releasing its offshore drilling plan just days before leaving office.
Source

I wonder why this tidbit has been left out of most news stories I've seen.....

Why would he "Open" up new areas for exploration when we have hundreds of fields that we know have oil and gas in them like Anwar and the Gulf of Mexico? He is doing this so that it will be years before any drilling actually takes place. What a small time hood!

Just another lie.