McCain On Stage; Walter Reed Middle School, North Hollywood, CA as backdrop
Watch Speech On UStream TV
Mid-way through his acceptance speech in St. Paul, MN, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) called for offshore oil drilling, "now." The crowd loved it.
McCain coupled this call for domestic oil production (which will have no short-term impact on gasoline prices) with a pledge to "stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don’t like us very much." That fiscal pledge (isolationist foreign policy?) is intriguing (no details provided, of course), but McCain made no attempt to show how the claims were linked. See for yourself (emphasis added):
My fellow Americans, when I’m President, we’re going to embark on the most ambitious national project in decades. We are going to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don’t like us very much. We will attack the problem on every front. We will produce more energy at home. We will drill new wells offshore, and we’ll drill them now. We will build more nuclear power plants. We will develop clean coal technology. We will increase the use of wind, tide, solar and natural gas. We will encourage the development and use of flex fuel, hybrid and electric automobiles.
Back in June, McCain reversed his prior opposition to offshore drilling (in his run for the White House in 2000). This is when he also called for a gasoline tax holiday. His campaign was rewarded with a burst of contributions from people who work for oil companies.
In July, I explained why lifting the offshore drilling ban won't help gasoline prices. US Conservatives Guide Justin Quinn disagrees.
And as Environment Guide Larry West explains, McCain has taken the popular stance. An August poll shows that most Americans now support offshore oil drilling. How well informed is that opinion? My guess: not so much.
Finally, a civics lesson reminder: it's great to hear any candidate running for an executive office (President, governor) talk about their legislative goals. But remember, the only power that the executive has is that of suggesting legislation; the executive must then cajole Congressmen (or legislators) into support. LBJ was a master at this.
Related reading:
- Visual Analysis of McCain's Acceptance Speech
- McCain Overlooks Environment, Embraces Big Oil in Accepting GOP Nomination
- McCain's Senate Record: 110th Congress
- Obama's Senate Record: 110th Congress
- Palin Energizes Republican Delegates
- Poll: Has Sarah Palin Energized You?
- Sarah Palin, The Tonya Harding of Republican Politics
- Public Campaign Money Subsidizes RNC, DNC
- Ron Paul's Minneapolis
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