"Barack Obama, Rebates Or Off Shore Drilling?"

Fri Aug 1, 12:33 PM ET Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. acknowledges an audience member's question, Friday, Aug. 1, 2008, during a town hall meeting in St. Petersburg, Fla.(AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday pushed for a windfall profits tax to fund $1,000 emergency rebate checks for consumers besieged by high energy costs, a counter to Republican rival John McCain's call for more offshore drilling in coastal states like Florida.

The pitch for putting some of the economic burden of $4-a-gallon gasoline on the oil industry served a dual purpose for Obama: It allowed him to talk up an economic issue, seen by many as a strength for Democrats and a weakness for Republicans, and at the same time respond to criticism from McCain that Obama's opposition to offshore drilling leads to higher prices at the pump.

"This rebate will be enough to offset the increased cost of gas for a working family over the next four months," Obama said during a two-day campaign swing in Florida. "It will be enough to cover the entire increase in your heating bills. Or you could use the rebate for any of your other bills, or even to pay down your own debt."

Energy issues could motivate Florida voters. The Quinnipiac poll showed six in 10 respondents backing Bush's call for more offshore drilling and wanting Congress to go along. At the same time, about a third of those polled favored Obama's energy policies over McCain's, with another third undecided between the two.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Friday he would be willing to support limited additional offshore oil drilling if that's what it takes to enact a comprehensive policy to foster fuel-efficient autos and develop alternate energy sources.

Shifting from his previous opposition to expanded offshore drilling, the Illinois senator told a Florida newspaper he could get behind a compromise with Republicans and oil companies to prevent gridlock over energy.

Republican rival John McCain, who earlier dropped his opposition to offshore drilling, has been criticizing Obama on the stump and in broadcast ads for clinging to his opposition as gasoline prices topped $4 a gallon. Polls indicate these attacks have helped McCain gain ground on Obama.

"My interest is in making sure we've got the kind of comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices," Obama said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post.

"If, in order to get that passed, we have to compromise in terms of a careful, well thought-out drilling strategy that was carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage — I don't want to be so rigid that we can't get something done."

In Congress, both parties have fought bitterly over energy policy for weeks, with Republicans pressing for more domestic oil drilling and Democrats railing about oil company profits. Despite hundreds of hours of House and Senate floor debate, lawmakers will leave Washington for their five-week summer hiatus this week with an empty tank.

"The Republicans and the oil companies have been really beating the drums on drilling," Obama said in the Post interview. "And so we don't want gridlock. We want to get something done."

     Today presumptive Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama, proposed to place a "windfall profits" tax on "Big oil" to fund an emergency gas rebate of $1,000.00 to American consumers and then turned around a few hours later and conceded the possible benefits of lifting the Congressional ban on off shore drilling, which begs the question of just what does Obama want "Big Oil" to do with their "windfall profits", rebates or off shore drilling? As I see it, Obama can't have it both ways. If the oil companies are allowed to drill into new reservoirs, they will need these huge "windfall profits" to undertake the  new off shore operations. As I see it Obama's "windfall profits" rebates to consumers falls into the same category as McCain's "gas tax holiday" for consumers, just so much political pandering for votes. (The fact that many Floridians are in favor of off shore drilling, is it surprising that Obama would now voice support for the measure, while speaking in Florida?) As I pointed out in my previous post "What To Do With Big Oil Profits?", America needs the oil from the coastal reservoirs as the transition is made to alternative energy sources. Hopefully when this general election campaign is over and the next President is in office with the need of political pandering for votes over, sound policies will be made in finding real solutions to the energy crisis here in America.

tags: off shore drilling  windfall profits tax  barack obama  john mccain  energy crisis  politics  takebackamerica  president  us  big oil  the economy  obama  mccain  

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