That offshore drilling snake oil

[davidnc76]

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

A key to understanding the language of politics in this country is credulity -- a two-bit term for willingness to believe the damnedest nonsense with no supporting evidence as long as it appeals to one's abiding prejudice or unquenchable avarice.

Lots of Florida real estate under a foot of water was sold in years past to lots of credulous out-of-staters who believed they were getting in on a steal. (Actually, they were, but not the steal they had in mind.) More recently, some of our best bankers actually believed they could make money by giving mortgages to folks with less credit than a guy living in a cardboard box in the Bowery. And we all know some dodo today who believes Barack Obama is a Muslim.

Now we have a new winner in the credulity sweepstakes -- the belief that offshore oil drilling is a sure cure for obscene gasoline prices. It's more evidence of the power of panic to push office seekers into lousy public policy decisions, not to mention more evidence of the triumph of hope over experience.

It wasn't always that way. Time was, both John McCain and Obama weren't fooled by claims that cheap offshore black gold could drive gasoline prices back to $2-something a gallon. Each opposed offshore drilling as a threat to the environment and a colossal con job by U.S. oil giants eager to lock up every possible oil field as a cheap way to boost their stock prices -- whether they drilled or not.


Read more:

http://www.nj.com/columns/ledger/farmer/index.ssf?/base/columns-0/1217910933123300.xml&coll=1

[Skittles]

1. now they're just pandering for votes

instead of taking the time to educate voters :thumbsdown: