This article gets it totally backwards. I was fiercely opposed to McCain, but his announcement today makes me much more supportive of him. "When circumstances change, I change my opinion...What do you do, sir?"

McCain is focused on increasing supply, which is the ONLY way to lower gas prices. Five years to start pumping oil? So what? Do you think demand for oil will go down in the next five years? It won't - we have to increase supply.

Obama's plan has ZERO effect on supply. A tax on oil companies? Great, guess who they will pass that tax along to? All of us! Wake up, people. The need for oil is going away no matter how hard you wish it, and Obama has no solution to deal with that reality.

So why couldn't Bush and a GOP Congress get it passed....but McCain and a Dem Congress will?

""When circumstances change, I change my opinion...What do you do, sir?"

Now where have I heared that little phrase before. Oh yeah! John Kerry. So when a republican changes his mind it is because of circumstances but when a dem does it then it is flip flopping.

As to the oil prices, we already know that the oil companies are claiming it isnt the fact that the oil is foreign but that we dont have enough capacity in our current system of refineries. Seems to me that if that hasnt changed, all the domestic drilling will mean is that we keep paying high prices but the oil companies spend less to get their raw material. I dont see that reducing costs at all. It just increases their profits.

Until we make it unprofitable to gouge the people of this country, the oil companies will pocket all they can. At least if we tax them on profits they are helping to pay for the many programs needed to offset the damage they do-from the environmental damage to the poverty caused by their high prices affecting heating and transportation costs which affect everyone.

And why aren't they drilling on the millions of acres they have oil leases for NOW?!?!?

prorixum:

McCain is focused on increasing supply, which is the ONLY way to lower gas prices. Five years to start pumping oil? So what? Do you think demand for oil will go down in the next five years? It won't - we have to increase supply.

Obama's plan has ZERO effect on supply. A tax on oil companies? Great, guess who they will pass that tax along to? All of us! Wake up, people. The need for oil is going away no matter how hard you wish it, and Obama has no solution to deal with that reality.

There's this thing called Demand. When that goes down, so do prices. Provide energy alternatives to oil and demand will go down, just as it's already going down due to high prices.

BTW, oil isn't going to be around forever. The grown up thing for us to do is acknowledge that fact and begin to act accordingly. Or we could just pander with gas tax "holidays."

I guess you missed the part where I specifically asked whether demand will decrease in the next 5 years. Nobody thinks that. Gas prices doubled in two years. What will happen over the next 5? I, like most "pro-drillers," favor conservation and alternative energy sources, but sound economic and national security policy doesn't favors developing our own energy resources.

prorixum:

I guess you missed the part where I specifically asked whether demand will decrease in the next 5 years. Nobody thinks that. Gas prices doubled in two years. What will happen over the next 5? I, like most "pro-drillers," favor conservation and alternative energy sources, but sound economic and national security policy doesn't favors developing our own energy resources.

We're not going to drill our way out of high oil prices, period. How long would it take to get oil fields in the ANWR or offshore online? In the meantime, would a gas tax "holiday" make a difference? No. So what are we left with: conservation, lower usage, and alternative energy sources. With respect to the latter, in particular, the time to begin doing something is right now and is therefore a salient election issue. In terms of policy, that's a real difference between Obama and McCain.

You sound very sure about an unwaveringly high level of demand when reducing demand is exactly what businesses are scrambling to do already. Both GM and Ford are making cutbacks in their SUV lines because people aren't interested in buying vehicles that require so much fuel. As new cars on the road tend to be more fuel-efficient and as more people switch to mass transit, oil consumption- and therefore demand for oil- will drop in this country. Five years should be more than enough time for these changes in behavior to lead to larger effects on the market...

So much for nobody thinking that.

The time to start drilling was TEN YEARS AGO, and people like you opposed it then. Smart move, huh? Government interference has, shockingly!, created artificial price increases that have damaged the economy and hit working people hardest. I've never advocated a gas tax holiday as any kind of solution (though less money in the government's hands is always a good thing). Obama's has no solution except to pander to those harboring rage with "big oil" by taxing their profits. I agree - conservation is great (maybe Al Gore should try it!) but let's not fool ourselves. We are still competing with the rest of the world for oil, and ignoring our own energy resources is stupid.

prorixum:

The time to start drilling was TEN YEARS AGO, and people like you opposed it then. Smart move, huh? Government interference has, shockingly!, created artificial price increases that have damaged the economy and hit working people hardest. I've never advocated a gas tax holiday as any kind of solution (though less money in the government's hands is always a good thing). Obama's has no solution except to pander to those harboring rage with "big oil" by taxing their profits. I agree - conservation is great (maybe Al Gore should try it!) but let's not fool ourselves. We are still competing with the rest of the world for oil, and ignoring our own energy resources is stupid.

"Government interference" hasn't created high prices. High prices are due to a) speculation and b) the weak dollar.

As for Big Oil, how do you feel about the fact that these companies are receiving corporate welfare in the form of tax breaks at the same time they are recording record profits?

Again, oil is going away. The time to grapple with that reality is right now.

You sound very sure about an unwaveringly high level of demand when reducing demand is exactly what businesses are scrambling to do already.

#### You can only reduce your demand based on what you require. Unless you live in a major city, you dont have mass transit at all. That means you drive because you must drive. Those people who drive were not all driving SUVs either.

" Both GM and Ford are making cutbacks in their SUV lines because people aren't interested in buying vehicles that require so much fuel. As new cars on the road tend to be more fuel-efficient and as more people switch to mass transit, oil consumption- and therefore demand for oil- will drop in this country."

#### Oil demand wont drop because countries such as China and India who have large populations have joined the global economy and are now buying and using cars for the first time. In other word, no matter how much the USA reduces our demand, the number of nations with our hunger for oil is increasing thus more buyers for foreign oil. Oil consumption is growing no matter what the US does.

"Five years should be more than enough time for these changes in behavior to lead to larger effects on the market..."

#### Five years from now may not be soon enough when you consider the over all impact of the higher prices today. People cannot afford many things because as I mentioned above, they dont have a choice about gas. Sure, they may be able to switch to a more gas efficient vehicle (and of course they pay a price premium for the vehicle), but it doesnt really make all that much difference because the price per tank has doubled anyway-as they say, it doesnt matter how long the race is if you have no legs.

Demand is going continue to go up, up, up as China and India modernize. Time to really focus on conservation and alternatives.

The time to start drilling was TEN YEARS AGO, and people like you opposed it then. #### The reasons for opposing it have not changed-concerns about environmental impact. The price of gas doesnt justify risking our health. " Smart move, huh? Government interference has, shockingly!, created artificial price increases that have damaged the economy and hit working people hardest." ##### interference? Was that providing massive tax breaks even as profits soar or was it the war which has secured Iraq for the big oil companies, knocking French and Russian competition for that oil out of their contracts in the process? " I've never advocated a gas tax holiday as any kind of solution (though less money in the government's hands is always a good thing)." #### You know, I have to wonder how republicans keep talking about reducing spending and how government needs to cut these expenditures-they talk about financial prudence too. Yet they want to cut taxes and keep spending, thus the debt goes up in a big way. And while they gripe about every penny going to help the poor, they increase military spending and unneccessary wars. And even as Bush tried to steal it for the benefit of Wall Street, the Republicans even targetted our social security-the one income you can count on if you live to be too old to work or find yourself seriously disabled and unable to work. The Democrats at least pay for what we do-yes, higher taxs for those who benefit from our freedom the most-it makes sense. That money reduces our debt and the programs make this a better country-sure there is waste-and I know of few Democrats who try hard to preserve waste-even when it wears a uniform. The fact remains that the defense budget is one our largest sources of waste. Starting with 13 Billion a month for Iraq. "Obama's has no solution except to pander to those harboring rage with "big oil" by taxing their profits. I agree - conservation is great (maybe Al Gore should try it!) but let's not fool ourselves. We are still competing with the rest of the world for oil, and ignoring our own energy resources is stupid. ### No. We are only competing for survival-not oil. If we dont need oil it becomes a non issue. So long as we need oil,domestic oil production remains something we do need to look into-but only as an emergency measure-the reasons for needing to damage the environment (or think YOUR air, YOUR food, and YOUR drinking water if it makes it less "hippie" in your mind) . FYI-Al Gore's investment in new technology to reduce the energy consumption of his living ended in November of 2007-so the study pointing to the use of more electricity and fuel in 2007 makes sense both because there was construction being done to upgrade to these systems and because the same massive increases in cost of both were taking place then too-so it follows that a measurement of cost and consumption would take place-especially when you consider 11/12 months of any given year. The trick to statistical value is in interpretation-and any interpretation of Gores energy consumption and costs really should consider the reality of that given year.

Does anyone here have actual numbers on the prospective supply awaiting us off our shores? Can they then do calculations on what percentage of global demand this would serve, and thus what the corresponding drop in projected price this would lead to? I don't have these numbers, but I'm guessing it's pennies. The market is too huge to move the needle significantly. Energy independence is a noble goal, but there are numerous ways to accomplish it, and many of them don't include increasing fossil fuel consumption while lining the pockets of Bush's buddies. I like those better.

"Again, oil is going away. The time to grapple with that reality is right now."

Not really. At least not anytime soon.

As a means of transportation, yes. We've reached the apex of the Oil Age, and already Toyota can't keep up with hybrid demand because of the shortage of battery supplies. The means of production have yet to catch up with demand, but here lies opportunities for job growth.

Oil is not only used for transportation, but also in the manufacture of plastic and synthetic rubber. It takes roughly 5 quarts of oil to produce one standard size automobile tire. So, while we can reduce dependance on oil, there are these things to consider.