Bush To Put Congress on the Spot

Seeing an opportunity to score some political points as well as help the country with its energy needs, President Bush is going to put Congressional Democrats on the spot by calling for offshore drilling:

WASHINGTON — President Bush plans to make a renewed push Wednesday to get Congress to end a long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling, echoing a call by GOP presidential candidate John McCain.

Congressional Democrats have opposed lifting the prohibitions on energy development on nearly all federal Outer Continental Shelf waters for more than a quarter-century, including waters along both the East and West coasts.

With oil prices soaring and motorists paying $4 a gallon for gasoline, political pressures have been growing for more domestic oil and gas production.

"The president believes Congress shouldn't waste any more time," White House press secretary Dana Perino told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

"He will explicitly call on Congress to ... pass legislation lifting the congressional ban on safe, environmentally friendly offshore oil drilling," Perino said. "He wants to work with states to determine where offshore drilling should occur."

Bush also will reiterate his call for development of oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, Perino said. McCain has opposed drilling in the refuge, maintaining that the pristine areas in northeastern Alaska should be protected from energy development.

Well played, but it won't be th political coup it should be unless McCain reverses his position on ANWR. If he does that Obama will complain and call him a flip-flopper, but the voters will who are not too excited about $4.50 a gallon gas will not hold McCain's change of position against him.

Obama is already trying to make a comparison between the McCain of 2000 who opposed offshore drilling and the McCain of 2008 who doesn't. That's an easy argument to bat back. With gas at $1.25 (the 2000 price) McCain could afford to be against offshore drilling. With gas at $4.50 (the 2008 price) only a fool would oppose new exploration and drilling.