The oil spill is an embarrassment to the administration who just opened up offshore

[still_one]

drilling in certain areas

People have pretty short memories

This will definitely hurt the fishing and other industries in that area

[Frances]

1. I think the political fallout is more complicated

Because of Obama's decision, the spill forces people to see the consequences of drilling. Those people adversely affected by the drilling will have to decide if they really want to "Drill baby drill." Obama won't be there to protect them. They'll have to take a stand themselves.

The reason I say this is because my brother is all for drilling, but he lives in a condo overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. He is a staunch Repub. A couple of years ago I mentioned that the country needs to develop alternative energy; he insisted we needed to drill. I just kept my mouth shut because I knew a day would come when he would be personally impacted.

[still_one]

4. Whether it was Alaska or Long Beach, like you said to your brother there will be mistakes

Do you think it will change your brother's opinion?

[Frances]

33. My brother is a good person, and he approaches

problems rationally, except anything that pertains to politics. If he is able to separate the idea of the spill from political parties, he might change his mind. But if he thinks that this is a Republican-Democratic thing, he may go into robot mode and just blame Obama and the Dems. I don't know how he is able to turn off his brain when it comes to politics, but he does.

[karynnj]

20. Nice post

In addition, I wonder what this does to cost/benefit analyses of the companies in areas where drilling is already allowed. In many of those areas, the likely amount of oil does not justify the cost to drill for it. This spill would seem to seriously impact the insurance rates that the companies pay to protect themselves from this type of accident. If it is large, it will turn marginal projects to "no go" projects.

At this point, I think Obama's proposal was just that a proposal. I think he needs Congress to pass it. I think many Senators may rethink their positions.

[Blue Owl]

2. Not to mention how extra stupid it makes Sarah Palin look

Whatever credibility that fraud has left should be gushing out faster than the crude polluting our oceans.

[still_one]

5. That the so-called news media even covers palin shows how inept they are /nt

[cbdo2007]

3. Shouldn't it be an embarrassment to everyone who has a car?

We're all the users of this oil. They will only stop drilling when we stop using.

[still_one]

7. Not really. No one told the administration to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling

with cars, they are already here, and slowly they are moving to more alternative forms. It should have started in the seventies, but better late than never

[retread]

17. Another excellent example of a

[ecstatic]

25. Not really. If we use cars that use oil, do we want the spills to occur in other countries

besides ours? Considering we pay relatively little for gas compared to other countries and use more of it... Don't you feel the slightest amount of guilt for wanting to use as much as you like but also wanting other people to suffer the consequences of spills?

[cali]

6. except they haven't opened it up

they've opened up studies and exploration. the drilling is very unlikely to ever happen. And I think they know that.

[still_one]

8. at least you would hope it wouldn't happen now /nt

[Statistical]

18. Exploration is done via...... exploration DRILLING.

:rofl:

There will be no drilling... just exploration drilling.

Kinda like saying "there will be no gay bashings just some homosexuals being physically assaulted for being gay".

[That Is Quite Enough]

19. Yeah. Exploration = obfuscating synonym for drilling

Makes it sound a lot more exciting and not quite as despicable.

[karynnj]

23. Not a good analogy

There is a huge difference between a test trilling and actual drilling. Your example is a difference in semantics only.

[Statistical]

26. Guess what happens if the BOP fails in a test drill well that strikes oil?

The idea that test well drilling isn't drilling is silly.

[HughMoran]

30. You have no idea of the scale

Really, do you know or are you guessing?

[karynnj]

22. I agree

In 2008, when opening off shore areas to drilling was last voted on, many Senators pointed to the vast number of areas where drilling was already appoved, where no drilling happened because it was not economic. This should rise the amount the insurance companies will charge to insure against spills. That will make marginal projects, no longer positive.

[harun]

9. Corporate media will give him cover on this one. However, to those

paying attention, we see it as an embarrassment.

I have already seen commentators talking about how the Ocean's have oil naturally leaked in to them every day from the sea bed and how the system "just absorbs it". Instead of being responsible journalist's and asking the question why we don't have safer wells with more safe guards for stopping leakage after an accident.

[still_one]

10. Actually, I think you are most likely right /nt

[ChickMagic]

13. The sea bed doesn't absorb it

It rolls up into tar balls that coat the beaches. Believe me, I sat down in quite a few
when my family visited Galveston every weekend when I was a kid. Other tar balls are mistaken for food by marine life and others get buried in the silt of the sea bed, but it doesn't get absorbed.

[harun]

14. They are lying to try and temper public opinion against the oil company.

Natural leakage over thousands of square miles is not comparable to > 200K gallons a day in one spot.

[ChickMagic]

16. Exactly

I majored in marine biology, so I know a little more than the average person.
I knew they were lying immediately, but I've heard people say, "Well, oil leaks
naturally all the time." It just makes me livid.

[HughMoran]

31. Only a low information person looking to criticize would see it this way

...as if he is Edgar Casey or something and just happened to know that the worst disaster in our history was about to happen within months of his decision :eyes:

[freddie mertz]

11. You got that right.

The silence about it here is eerie.

[adigal]

12. I was appalled, and people her and on Daily Kos

told me to get a grip, it is fine, tankers spill oil, not oil rigs.

Fools.

[malaise]

15. That is factually not true

Obama opened up the area to more studies re off shore drilling.
He cannot be blamed for this mess but he did weaken his original position on the issue. Indeed had he not raised the issue Sarah Palin would have been finished right here and right now.

[freddie mertz]

24. Indeed. In this case, triangulation backfired on the triangulator (Obama)

And provided political cover for the agitator (Palin).

[malaise]

28. Beautifully stated

:hi:

[freddie mertz]

32. Thanks!!!

Sometimes I can make it come out right.

[Xenotime]

21. This disaster just sickens me.

[Evasporque]

27. No...it is embarassment to "Drill baby drill! " Mentality....

If the GOP had not fanned the flames of the "drill baby drill" meme...

Maybe shortcuts would not of been taken to increase productivity that lead to accidents...

[HughMoran]

29. That's a fairly low-information perspective

Seeing as this exploration was long underway before Obama took office and nothing he's done has changed anything to date.

...Unless besides being the Savior, he also is required to be Edgar Casey? :eyes:

[treestar]

34. Why should it be an embarrassment to the administration?

Oil spills have happened before and are not the responsibility of the administration.

I can appreciate environmentalism, but nothing is without accidents. This is no argument that it should or should not continue. We don't shut down aviation due to plane crashes, we don't shut down the schools when there have been shootings at some. Life goes on. Overall oil policy should not be affected one way or the other.

[Enrique]

35. because they just told us drilling was safe n/t

[Forkboy]

36. How much environment does a plane crash destroy?

And how much environment is destroyed in school shootings?

Fucking DU. :crazy: