So nobody can even look at alternative without Congress approving it?

That's amazing. Because I seem to remember, about two weeks ago, everyone cheering when the Department of Energy approved the first step in a loan guarantee to Cape Wind Farm. http://energy.gov/articles/energy-department-offers-conditional-commitment-cape-wind-offshore-wind-generation-projec-0

Well, you just wait until the Rethugs figure out how to stop that, or something.

Just because Cape Wind has already signed agreements in which the National Grid will be buying at least half of the energy is no reason to think that there can be any movement away from Drill baby Drill. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Wind

I guess we need the oil drilling to make sure our gas guzzling cars are able to move. Obviously no progress is being made on fuel economy, or alternative energy issues. http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/concept-cars/vw-reveals-new-300mpg-coupe

Damn it. Um, perhaps we have to drill because. Well perhaps we need to go hog wild with the drilling because...

Um. Yeah. It's all the Republicans fault. Or something. It couldn't be that we have a weak Individual in the White House who is scrambling trying to get more people to approve of him? No, it couldn't be that. http://www.api.org/news-and-media/news/newsitems/2013/oct-2013/poll-shows-florida-voters-strongly-support-offshore-drilling

Ok, maybe it is that. Maybe this announcement is a desperate attempt by a guy who's trying to get popular again. Like a high school boy who runs to his friends to swear he just got laid by one of the cheerleaders.

I say that because there is no other possible reason for it. We are using less oil. That fact is undeniable, so there is no dramatic increase in usage to justify the drill baby drill mentality. Oil Prices are steady and well below the record highs of a while ago. The public is not screaming about gasoline prices.

Fracking is about as popular as Congress around the nation. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/10/california-fracking-poll_n_3415925.html

So I don't see the real strategic advantage in a sense of you know, need. So what is left? Public Opinion. The President is pandering, sucking up in a desperate effort to get his approval numbers up. Neither he nor the party care if they shit on the Liberals, we smile and say happy to vote for you, when do you need me to volunteer to man the phones to beg people to vote for you? Can I give you a donation now? Or would it be better to wait until next week?

President Obama is running around trying to gin up his Approval numbers. Nothing else makes sense. He's been below 50% for so long that the bet every week isn't if he'll be below 50%, but how far below. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html

Now, you can blame the Republicans, but the facts are that progress is being made on alternative energy despite the gridlock. You can blame anything, or anyone you want. But one man went out and gave the speech. One man went out and outlined the policy. The same one man who had the power to veto the PATRIOT ACT. The same one man who could order the NSA to shut down the illegal surveillance in a single sentence. Somebody else posted that President Obama was a disappointment, but at least we already know that Hillary is a corporatist. He's the thing. I don't think Hillary would be doing these things. Oh she would not be the Liberal Dream in the Oval Office, make no mistake about that. But she wouldn't be doing this.