Obama flip flops on Strategic Petroleum Reserve
posted at 2:50 pm on August 4, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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Via Jim Geraghty, who caught this even while on vacation. In August 2005, Obama agreed with George Bush’s decision to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in order to buffer the economy from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. However, Obama warned that such actions should only take place in times of real emergency (emphases mine):
I agree with the President’s decision to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help replenish supply shortages resulting from Hurricane Katrina. Nearly all oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut down, and releasing this oil will help increase production and stabilize prices. However, I do believe that this tragedy makes it very clear that that the reserve should only be used in the event of an emergency, and that we shouldn’t be tapping the reserve to provide a small, short-term decrease in gas prices.
And again last month, in St. Louis on July 7th:
I do not believe that we should use the strategic oil reserves at this point. I have said and, in fact, supported a congressional resolution that said that we should suspend putting more oil into the strategic oil reserve, but the strategic oil reserve, I think, has to be reserved for a genuine emergency. You have a situation, let’s say, where there was a major oil facility in Saudi Arabia that was destroyed as a consequence of terrorist acts, and you suddenly had huge amounts of oil taken out of the world market, we wouldn’t just be seeing $4-a-gallon oil. We could see a situation where entire sectors of the country had no oil to function at all. And that’s what the strategic oil reserve has to be for.
Today, we discovered what Barack Obama considers a genuine emergency — a drop in the polls:
Democrat Barack Obama called today for tapping the nation’s strategic oil reserves to help drive down gasoline prices, a shift from his previous position on the issue.
The reversal is the second refinement in Obama’s energy policy. Last week, he said that he would reluctantly consider accepting some offshore oil drilling. Obama had previously said he opposed such drilling, which is strongly backed by rival John McCain, who has urged that states be allowed to decide whether to drill.
Obama changed his position to protect Nancy Pelosi, who demanded a release from the SPR rather than allowing a debate and a vote on the House floor on increased domestic drilling. However, a release from the SPR would only provide momentary relief and do nothing to resolve the underlying issue of higher gas prices — a supply shortage on the world markets. Eventually, the US would have to refill the SPR, increasing demand which, without any increase in supply, would drive prices up even farther than they are now.
Obama used to have the intelligence to understand this. Now he’s too desperate to care.
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That sound you hear is the wheels coming off the Obama campaign…
rockmom on August 4, 2008 at 2:53 PM
Hilarious photo, Ed. I think we need a caption contest.
Jaibones on August 4, 2008 at 2:54 PM
This guy would be a truly dangerous President.
He doesn’t even blow in the wind day to day, now it’s moment to moment.
That’s how people who are vastly inexperienced, with no idea what it is they are doing, act.
This guy needs to drop out of the race NOW. He’s just a complete joke of a candidate.
NoDonkey on August 4, 2008 at 2:54 PM
That must be the ahhh … aaaahhh … change that aaahhhh … Obama was talking about. How progressive of him.
DannoJyd on August 4, 2008 at 2:54 PM
Zero Credibility.
hillbillyjim on August 4, 2008 at 2:55 PM
Nancy Pelosi pushes the molester’s hand away, while Obama grins.
Jaibones on August 4, 2008 at 2:55 PM
Will Obama’s last standing principle please shut off the lights?
Chuck Schick on August 4, 2008 at 2:56 PM
Next thing you know they’ll be putting up ads saying George Bush is sitting on 700 million barrels of oil so his friends can get rich.
rockmom on August 4, 2008 at 2:56 PM
Refinement!! LOL.
I think that gurgling sound you can hear is the Obama phenomenon being flushed down the national toilet.
Martin on August 4, 2008 at 2:56 PM
So, your RNC commercial is:
Obama was against releasing oil after Hurricane Katrina, but is in favor of it now that white people are affected. Why does Obama hate black people?
LOL
lorien1973 on August 4, 2008 at 2:56 PM
NO release from SPR. Do not use an emergency to cover obstructionism.
DerKrieger on August 4, 2008 at 2:57 PM
Is the emergency BHO’s drop in the polls? This proposed action must be stopped. We need to keep the SPR full, for true calamities.
NaCly dog on August 4, 2008 at 2:57 PM
Keep yer paws off the reserve. Oil dropped another $3.69/bbl today, so ‘twould seem all one has to do is keep up the pressure to drill.
tree hugging sister on August 4, 2008 at 2:58 PM
Please don’t give them any ideas.
wise_man on August 4, 2008 at 3:00 PM
That reminds me. Didn’t those old-fashioned weathervanes have a chicken on top of them?
NeighborhoodCatLady on August 4, 2008 at 3:01 PM
Truly mind boggling how
peosheeple can consider this guy for president.Swinehound on August 4, 2008 at 3:02 PM
The release would be good for what, 3 days of fuel, nationwide? LOL.
RushBaby on August 4, 2008 at 3:03 PM
“Didn’t those old-fashioned weathervanes have a chicken on top of them?”
That chicken is fired - he’s been replaced by a big eared, flip flopping, joke of a candidate.
NoDonkey on August 4, 2008 at 3:04 PM
Tap the reserves and pay for votes by promising $1000 “rebate” from the oil companies. Where I come from, we call that “stealing”. No wonder he’s tops with low income earners!
Nice planning, Team Barry.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on August 4, 2008 at 3:05 PM
Those were the training wheels, and they were loose from the start.
Texas Rainmaker on August 4, 2008 at 3:05 PM
That is not the weathervane chicken that Obama knew.
amerpundit on August 4, 2008 at 3:06 PM
Yep. It was home…….(wait for it)……to ROOST!
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on August 4, 2008 at 3:06 PM
This is such a bad idea I don’t even know what to say about it, except that it’s a great opportunity to put Pelosi and Obama together on the wrong side of an issue again.
How can anyone who isn’t a complete nut want these two to be running the country?
forest on August 4, 2008 at 3:07 PM
Good thinkin’, Barry, but what do we do if 3 months from now the Israelis decide to hit Iranian nuclear facilities and the Iranians try to block the strait of Hormuz in response?
trubble on August 4, 2008 at 3:07 PM
how much Oil is in that Reserve? They could sell it and pay down the deficet?
jp on August 4, 2008 at 3:09 PM
So Barry wants to use the oil we have aside in case of emergency in order to avoid increasing expected future oil supplies by drilling domestically. Moron.
amerpundit on August 4, 2008 at 3:10 PM
So if I understand this…..he’s actually promoting oil use? If he was really principled, he would not allow for extra oil to be used. He would have stuck to his guns and pushed (the mantra) for more alternative energy sources. The radical leftie environuts won’t like that one…….but they will still vote for him anyway to prevent a “third Bush term”.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on August 4, 2008 at 3:10 PM
This is not the strategic petroleum reserve I thought I knew. . .
Also, he has to realize that his 1000 dollar subsidy will drive prices higher as demand increases also. That’s the problem now. . . Asian countries are subsidizing gas so demand does not drop.
ThackerAgency on August 4, 2008 at 3:10 PM
Nancy looks so natural.
terryannonline on August 4, 2008 at 3:10 PM
Is there some racist, subliminal message in the photo, showing Obama with a mature,busty white woman?
Star20 on August 4, 2008 at 3:10 PM
I had a Bill Clinton weathervane (no, it didn’t have THAT on top of it). It had a jackass on it.
john1schn on August 4, 2008 at 3:10 PM
Hillary is burning up the phone lines to the Super-Delegate’s….
“I told you he could get elected…now do I have your vote?”
PappaMac on August 4, 2008 at 3:10 PM
couldn’t*.
damn
PappaMac on August 4, 2008 at 3:11 PM
Obama and Pelosi are Liars. Not confused; not adjusting thier positions; not flip flopping. They are out and out liars, who are covering for a radical agenda that they dare not expose to the American public.
marklmail on August 4, 2008 at 3:13 PM
Today is Helen Thomas’ birthday.
And now Ed shoves pics of Nancy onto us in nearly every post.
Coincidence? I think not.
I question the
timingbotox!wccawa on August 4, 2008 at 3:15 PM
[Channeling insane leftie environut] Release oil from the strategic reserve which will increase our CO2 output. Makes absolutely no sense when he wants to implement cap-and-trade for CO2 emissions.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on August 4, 2008 at 3:15 PM
Caption:
Steny Hoyer grabs at the teats of big government while Obama smilingly approves.
BigD on August 4, 2008 at 3:15 PM
So Nancy insists on putting our oil supply at risk….while depleting our Strategic Reserve!!
Is Nancy Pelosi from an Al-Qaeda controlled district??? Or is it Democrat national policy to destroy America??
landlines on August 4, 2008 at 3:16 PM
Isn’t today the Messiah’s birthday?
Interesting…..Hmmmm….It’s also someone else’s birthday today, too.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on August 4, 2008 at 3:17 PM
“Today is Helen Thomas’ birthday.”
Nice photo. She doesn’t look a day over 200.
When she passes from the scene, America will be less one, um, scene passer.
NoDonkey on August 4, 2008 at 3:18 PM
Why does Michelle Obama look so angry in that picture? Oh, that’s right.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on August 4, 2008 at 3:19 PM
We’re only at the brink of an Iranian nuclear crisis, we don’t need no stinking Strategic Petroleum Reserve!
Argh.
Maquis on August 4, 2008 at 3:22 PM
“Why does Michelle Obama look so angry in that picture?”
“This is not the wife and mother of my children that I knew.”
Michelle, meet bus.
NoDonkey on August 4, 2008 at 3:22 PM
I think we should tap into the American Strategic Petroleum Reserve…
It’s vast…..and it’s right off our coastline.
ChrisM on August 4, 2008 at 3:24 PM
I was just thinking–all those idiots who shrieked “No Blood for Oil” should (if they had a brain) be thinking about just how wrong they were–if the Iraq war was really about oil, would our gas prices be $4+/gallon??
Yossarian on August 4, 2008 at 3:26 PM
Nov. 08 Election Results:
McCain: 72%
Obama: 27%
Barr/Nader/Anyone but BOOOOSH: 1%
This dude is toast.
omnipotent on August 4, 2008 at 3:28 PM
I’ve begun to lose track of all the flip-flops.
brak on August 4, 2008 at 3:28 PM
I’m sure the LAT will give McCain the same courtesy and call his next 180 a “refinement”.
NellE on August 4, 2008 at 3:28 PM
I’m beginning to agree with the people who’ve speculated that Obama never really expected to win the nomination. He was making a practice run, which he figured would end after a few primaries, and would give him some name recognition and some experience for a more serious run in 2012 or 2016. But something unexpected happened when the MSM started hyping Obama like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
The problem is that Mr. Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time-Player is looking like a bigger and bigger joke every day. He’s clearly in way over his head, and all the idiot re-tread advisors from the Carter and Clinton administrations are just making him look like an even bigger fool than he is. Winning the nomination this year may turn out to be the worst thing that could have happened to Obama’s political career.
AZCoyote on August 4, 2008 at 3:30 PM
question if the dems believe that adding 70 Million blls or 700 Million blls would relieve prices why do they not believe that adding 70 Billion bll not effect price by more than .10cents/gal?
unseen on August 4, 2008 at 3:34 PM
Drill democrats here, Burn Pelosi now, Elect fewer democrats.
If he flushes too slow, get out the plunger…
Between opposing what most Voters want on gas prices, insulting the PUMA Hillary supporters, and Obama’s radical record, democrats’ hopes for November will die in August.
Right_of_Attila on August 4, 2008 at 3:35 PM
Winning the nomination this year may turn out to be the worst thing that could have happened to Obama’s political career.
AZCoyote on August 4, 2008 at 3:30 PM
yeah but he hasn’t won the nomination yet. His “make friends” move to request to seat all the delagates for FL and MI may be the stupidest decsion yet. I can see Hillary sharpening her and Billy jeff’s knives.
unseen on August 4, 2008 at 3:36 PM
Yeah, but there’s nothing to cut off.
NeighborhoodCatLady on August 4, 2008 at 3:40 PM
was just thinking–all those idiots who shrieked “No Blood for Oil” should (if they had a brain) be thinking about just how wrong they were–if the Iraq war was really about oil, would our gas prices be $4+/gallon??
Yossarian on August 4, 2008 at 3:26 PM
That depends. Do you think sadamm would not have taken the advantage of the flare up in oil prices brought about by the supply issues. Sadamm would be sending rockets into Iran on a daily basis and Iran would be doing the same “just” to continue to drive prices up to benefit their nations.
I could think of nothing worse in the present energy spike then to still have sadamm in power. Gas could at this moment be $7-8.00/gal if he was still in power
unseen on August 4, 2008 at 3:40 PM
Obama’s so-called energy factsheet is one scary document.
Every voter should read this minifesto with an eye toward what kind of thought processes are required to come up with these proposals.
hillbillyjim on August 4, 2008 at 3:40 PM
Yeah, but there’s nothing to cut off.
NeighborhoodCatLady on August 4, 2008 at 3:40 PM
I don’t know BHO head has seemed to grow an awful lot over the last 2 months
unseen on August 4, 2008 at 3:41 PM
hillbillyjim on August 4, 2008 at 3:40 PM
link doesn’t work
unseen on August 4, 2008 at 3:43 PM
I think I’m going to be rich! I am, at this moment, designing a weathervane with the likeness of Barack Obama on it. Just incorporating large ears in the design will assure that it turns at the slighest breeze!
Yoop on August 4, 2008 at 3:44 PM
If this isn’t enough to make some of you jump off of The Realconservative McCain Hatewagon, I don’t have much hope that you ever will.
hillbillyjim on August 4, 2008 at 3:44 PM
I’m getting so sick and so tired of all this attention that my opponent is getting! Why is it that hardly anyone seems to talk about me anymore? It’s just OBAMA! OBAMA! OBAMA! almost 24×7! The right wing blogs are doing it even more than the formally My Friends in the media are. You would think that they had never heard about all my past great legislation and never heard about all the great solutions I have for what ails our country!
- John McCain
MB4 on August 4, 2008 at 3:46 PM
Sorry. Bad link. PDF here.
hillbillyjim on August 4, 2008 at 3:48 PM
You’re all raaaaacists!!!
(No reason for that. Just thought too many minutes had gone by since racism had been injected into the presidential race.)
aero on August 4, 2008 at 3:49 PM
Note to the previous 60 commenters on this thread.
You’re racists.
That is all.
fogw on August 4, 2008 at 3:50 PM
Mind meld.
fogw on August 4, 2008 at 3:51 PM
aero on August 4, 2008 at 3:49 PM
What the dems forget is that the general population unlike the white liberal elite do not have white guilt. So the racists attacks by the Dems are having no impact infact they are reminding the general population of the true racists. The minorities and the democratic party. their racissm extends to everything that has do due with “white america” as they see it.
unseen on August 4, 2008 at 3:54 PM
Is it true that women who wear flip flops are actually wearing Obamas, the latest nuance in womens’ fashion?
volsense on August 4, 2008 at 3:54 PM
News Flash just reading the PDf of BHO energy plan.
He wants to swap light crude in the SPR and replace it with heavy crude. My understanding is that the SPR is just a massive salt dome. So mixing light and heavy crude I would think would make the entire SPR into a heavy crude which our present refineries have a diffucult time cracking into gasoline and it costs more to do it. So in essence BHO is saying for a short term relief at the pumps he is willing to make our CHILDREN pay in the future to refine the SPR into gasoline.
unseen on August 4, 2008 at 3:59 PM
“White Folks Greed Runs a World in Need”
marklmail on August 4, 2008 at 4:01 PM
Volsense, you are aware that comparing Obama to beach footwear is blatant racist hate-speech, and offensive to our tender sensibilities, no?
President Pancake ‘08!!!!!
Flipping where mere mortals dare to flop.
hillbillyjim on August 4, 2008 at 4:02 PM
I love the smell of train wrecks in August.
JimK on August 4, 2008 at 4:05 PM
Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggggggggh!
If there were truth in the MSM we wouldn’t even be debating this black hole. Every time I hear that knucklehead speak I feel the life being sucked out of me.
Ugh. Damn, I hate Liberals!
T-Shirt: Liberals make great compost!
Swinehound on August 4, 2008 at 4:06 PM
That is far from the worst of it. That and his $1,000.00
bribewealth redistribution scheme are only stop-gap measures to supposedly breach the gap until the rest of his massively stupid big government socialist proposals arefoisted on usimplemented.hillbillyjim on August 4, 2008 at 4:13 PM
I’m gonna have to log in to my blog to update it on this bit of news. Now, according to my tally, Obama has flip-flopped 24 times.
jgapinoy on August 4, 2008 at 4:14 PM
more from the PDF energy plan.
BHO will change the laws of economics and “decouple” the profit model for utilites from producing more electricity. To one where utilites “increase profits” due to increases in “relibility and performance”
So if my power is on 100% of the time does that mean that my utility company can charge me more per KWh?
Or does that mean my tax dollars will go to utilities that are doing their job? And if you make more production not profitable what will stop shortages from occurring. If your gaol is to decrease energy electrical production at the same time of increasing relibility then you have a massive problem. Because has the AVAILIBITY of energy goes down and demand goes up you have shortages and an decrease in relibility.
So how is BHO going to decrease demand? thru conservation? with a growing poplution you can only conserve so much.
thinking like this led to the Soviet Union downfall.
unseen on August 4, 2008 at 4:18 PM
No, silly. He is going to decrease demand by making us all switch to plug-in cars.
Huh?
hillbillyjim on August 4, 2008 at 4:24 PM
I don’t think so. Axelrod fully intended to win the Democratic nomination, but he thought there would be a just bloodbath in the GOP and that Republicans would end up nominating a far-right Bush-worshipper that they could easily attack and goad into racist attacks and such to drive away independent voters. He thought the country was so pissed off at the entire Republican Party, not just George Bush, that all Obama had to do was just show up and give a few nice speeches and that would be that.
He also didn’t factor in an actual success in Iraq, which took the war away as an issue, nor a dramatic rise in oil prices that takes away the traditional Democratic economy campaign focused on education, miminum wage increases, health care, and the like.
Suddenly, the Democrats have the wrong nominee facing the wrong Republican on the wrong set of issues.
rockmom on August 4, 2008 at 4:25 PM
jgapinoy,
Nice blog. However you may want to edit the following repeat…
9) was against displaying displaying patriotism via flag lapel pins, now wears one
Swinehound on August 4, 2008 at 4:26 PM
basic Economics is Racist.
jp on August 4, 2008 at 4:26 PM
hillbillyjim on August 4, 2008 at 4:13 PM
I wish I could copy and paste are the nut ideas in this program. good lord…
BHO also wants to start a smart grid program where the national electric grid would beusing “smart metering” this smart metering would allow the Department of Energy to “conduct programs that deploy advanced techiquies for managing peak loads reductions, and energy effciency savings on customer premises from smart metering, demand response
It goes on but you get the idea. BHO wants the Department of Energy to CONTROL our entire electric grid and ration our electric use.
unseen on August 4, 2008 at 4:27 PM
“Suddenly, the Democrats have the wrong nominee facing the wrong Republican on the wrong set of issues.”
Oopsy.
I love the smell of barbecued donkey.
Gonna get me a big heaping plate.
NoDonkey on August 4, 2008 at 4:28 PM
Huh?
hillbillyjim on August 4, 2008 at 4:24 PM
Nope he is going to do it from rationing the usage by making the department of Energy the electrical police. See above post for the direct quotes from BHO energy policy.
unseen on August 4, 2008 at 4:28 PM
He`s a chicken who`s layed an egg, now he`s scrambling it.
ThePrez on August 4, 2008 at 4:31 PM
Now you’re getting it.
If selling electricity is not the profit basis for electric utilities, then what is? In the end, it is about removing profit from the equation, like any good communist.
As best as I can tell, the end goal is MAKING the consumers do with less. Enforced with government incentives/penalties.
hillbillyjim on August 4, 2008 at 4:34 PM
As best as I can tell, the end goal is MAKING the consumers do with less. Enforced with government incentives/penalties.
hillbillyjim on August 4, 2008 at 4:34 PM
And fining the utilites if they do not decrease production. This is what the RNC should point out from the energy plan. This is the biggest thing in the energy planm. If the american people knew that BHO was going to adjust their thermostats for them it would kill his chances. This is straigh San Fran thinking. The elites will decide how warm you are in the winter, when you can ewatch your TV and how cool you are in the summer. I could see where you would have to get a permit to have an A/C installed in your home. etc. Much like a building permit today.
This is one of the most frightening “policies” from a Presidential canidate I have every seen. This is 100% Marxism. the RNc needs to hammer this home day and night.
The DNC idea for the energy problems is to do less with less.
unseen on August 4, 2008 at 4:49 PM
LOL.
Be nice if someone pinned his butt to the wall on this.
drjohn on August 4, 2008 at 4:50 PM
This is the second refinement to Obama’s energy plan says the reporter. Snort. This is not a refinement, this is a flip flop back flip over and under. He is making up for the offshore drilling flip flop.
Terrye on August 4, 2008 at 4:51 PM
Methinks you overestimate him.
iurockhead on August 4, 2008 at 4:52 PM
Parfait.
Buy Danish on August 4, 2008 at 5:04 PM
Oh come one. Be reasonable. It’s only fair to grant some dignity to this barely perceptible shift in position.
BWA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
drjohn on August 4, 2008 at 5:14 PM
This is some fine blogging, who didn’t crack a smile at that wit jabber. Quote of the day!
saus on August 4, 2008 at 5:51 PM
Hey if you tilt the ears just right and hook it up to a generator you might just have hit on the answer to our energy crisis!
Oldnuke on August 4, 2008 at 5:54 PM
Thank you, sir!
jgapinoy on August 4, 2008 at 10:28 PM
Hey Barry! Keep digging!!
GarandFan on August 4, 2008 at 11:41 PM