Certainly, as a tactical move to bolster the energy bill,
the timing wasn't a good one for the WH,
but that is about as much as this signifies....
as it doesn't make the incident "his" fault.
So yes, if you want to categorize Pres. Obama's offering to compromise (with caveat)
on the concept as an actual fault for the incident at hand, then you'd have to blame a whole
lot more people than that, and it would include folks on both sides of the aisle,
as well as Americans who appeared to support offshore drilling in the
majority.
Americans favor offshore drillingCNNMoney.com - 23rd Feb 2010
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- As the nation struggles to meet its energy needs, a majority of Americans think Offshore Drilling for oil and Natural Gas is a good idea, according to according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Wednesday. The poll, which surveyed more than 500 adults by phone in July, found that 69% of respondents support the idea of Offshore Drilling, while 30% opposed it. In June, 73% were in favor of Offshore Drilling.
http://politifi.com/news/Americans-favor-offshore-drilling-216659.html Support for Alternative Energy and Offshore DrillingMarch 2, 2010
At the same time, the public continues to broadly support expanded offshore oil drilling: 63% say they favor allowing more offshore oil and gas drilling in U.S. waters while 31% are opposed.
These opinions also have changed little since 2008.http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1509/alternative-energy-offshore-oil-drilling-nuclear-cap-and-tradeObama To Open Up Offshore Drilling, But Not That Much By SEAN HIGGINS, INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted 03/31/2010 06:57 PM ET
It wasn't exactly "Drill, baby, drill" but President Obama still surprised friends and critics alike by announcing Wednesday the administration would allow some off-shore drilling.
The operative word here is "some." Industry experts and key congressional staffers told IBD that the policy change really creates only the possibility of drilling off Virginia's coast. In most other cases, huge procedural, legal and legislative hurdles remain.A Republican staffer called it simply a "well-orchestrated media stunt."
"They got a lot of stories that said 'the president opens vast areas,' when
in reality he closed more than he opened," the GOP staffer said.
House Republican Whip Eric Cantor, whose district includes Richmond, Va., applauded the decision but said it wasn't much good to anybody outside his state.
"By standing in the way of developing these vast resources in an environmentally safe way, the administration is actively blocking job creation and needed revenue at a time when our country needs it most," he said in a statement.
The timing of the announcement sparked speculation among congressional staffers and energy lobbyists. Some thought the administration was offering an olive branch to industry and the GOP ahead of a proposed cap-and-trade bill. That follows Obama's recent moves to help finance new nuclear power plants.
Others thought it might be a pre-emptive move to take drilling off the table during those cap-and-trade bill negotiations.
The general impression was that the less-than-meets-the-eye drilling plan would not move the ball much on cap-and-trade.
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=529062