Obama’s drilling bribe is insultingly small.

[UPDATE] Welcome, Instapundit readers.

(H/T: Hot Air Headlines) Does he really think that this is sufficient to peel off cap-and-tax opposition? Let’s do some strategic bolding:

The Obama administration’s plan adopts some drilling proposals floated by President George W. Bush near the end of his tenure, including opening much of the Atlantic and Arctic Coasts. Those proposals were challenged in court on environmental grounds and set aside by President Obama shortly after he took office.

[snip]

The first lease sale off the coast of Virginia could occur as early as next year in a triangular tract 50 miles off the coast that had already been approved for development but was held up by a court challenge and additional Interior Department review, officials said.

But as a result of the Obama decision, the Interior Department will spend several years conducting geologic and environmental studies along the rest of the southern and central Atlantic Seaboard. If a tract is deemed suitable for development, it is listed for sale in a competitive bidding system. The next lease sales — if any are authorized by the Interior Department — would not be held before 2012.

Let me put it another way: the White House is implying the promise of jam tomorrow – in reality, it’s just a study to revisit the denial of jam yesterday – in exchange for jam today. Only the jam today is actually a swarm of angry wasps.  Try again, Mr. President.  Start with rescinding your interference with the Bush drilling permits, and expect to give up more.  A lot more: your opponents are not interested in indulging the Greenies’ quaint, somewhat primitive religious sensibilities.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

4 thoughts on “Obama’s drilling bribe is insultingly small.”

  1. Moe — these wells are a pretty huge time suck already. Tons of time-consuming studies already have to be done before you can begin drilling the billion-dollar wells, which then take even more time to construct. Even if O requires additional studies, I’m not sure if those additional studies will delay the production, relatively, by all that much.

  2. Studies? To drill a hole in the ground?

    Perhaps the “studies” themselves are the problem. While it is nice to know what sort of rate an oil field will produce, and if it is cost effective, the rest is pretty much superfluous. Perhaps we have to study how studies affect oil well drilling?

  3. We are 400k signatures away from giving the people of California the first vote on the merits of Al Gore’s global warming Act.
    The Attorneys General Jerry Brown originally slated the deadline for collecting signatures as July 25th. Then he moved the deadline back to June 6th. Now it’s set as April 25th – cutting the time to collect signatures in half.

    If it’s the most important issue of the future why do they take such great pains to prevent us from having a say?

    As it was written, AB32 has provisions to suspend the act in the case of economic hardship. WELL LET ME TELL YOU we have hardship. In Sacramento County – which is the seat of government – where most of the “growth industry” of government workers are employed in CA – we have 12.5% unemployment. Panhandlers line up for the chance to stand at major intersections.
    Still Gov Arnold won’t act, preferring his boutique legislation and legacy (such as it is) over the good of the public.
    It’s left to us to make the government live up to the letter of their own provisions.

    http://www.jobs2010ca.com/ – a ballot measure to suspend Calif Global Warming Act of 2006 (AB32). Sign the petition. And let’s see if they can hear us then.

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