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April 03, 2012 01:10 AM UTC

Obama Swings Back On Energy Production

  • 61 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

Here’s a new ad from President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, now on the air in Colorado, directly responding to presumptive GOP opponent Mitt Romney and his PAC allies on the issue of energy costs production. From accompanying materials:

President Obama has taken steps to move us toward energy independence and create an economy that’s built to last.

He’s been a strong supporter of domestic energy production, has made historic investments in clean energy technology, and has nearly doubled fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks. Because of the progress we’ve made, our dependence on foreign oil is the lowest it’s been in 16 years. Yet, conservative groups funded by big oil are spending millions trying to distort the President’s record…

In 2010 domestic crude oil production reached its highest level since 2003.

In 2010 natural gas production reached its highest level in more than 30 years.

The U.S. has become a net exporter of fuels for the first time since 1949.

The Obama administration has proposed a five-year offshore leasing plan that makes more than 75 percent of undiscovered oil and gas resources off our shores available for development, while putting in place common-sense safety requirements to prevent a disaster like the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico from happening again.

As we’ve said before, there’s probably no better use of air time by Democrats than directly confronting Republicans on their dubious statements regarding gas prices and energy production. As the economy has steadily recovered, Republican candidates have turned to the “price of gas” as a way of stoking continued economic angst–even as polls show the public isn’t buying the spin, and isn’t blaming the president for speculation-induced high gas prices.

Since gas prices are likely to stay high, like it or not, for the rest of our lives, it’s an issue that is going to remain in the spotlight for as long as it’s worth any low-information votes–both from those seeking to exploit the complex reality, or defending their records from said exploitation.

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61 thoughts on “Obama Swings Back On Energy Production”

  1. This ad is horrible. What’s Obama’s solution? Mandates and Solyndra? Seriously???

    I’m glad this ad is out there, it’s so ridiculous that it makes MY point. If Obama wants to win the American public back on energy, he has to show them how he is working to bring prices down. This ad shows why he is out of touch, like Steven “$8 a gallon” Chu.

    And you accuse Hickenlooper of “shining turds?”

    1. is that you can’t refute the oil production and gas production numbers showing the highest levels of production since Bush was an alcoholic.

      I bet you just barf on your shoes when you have to try and spin increased domestic production as a failure.  What’s a troll to do?

          1. The “Oil production is at a high” is such a giant, fat whopper of a lie when you’re talking about inept bunch of fools, no reinforcements are needed.  

            Oh – gee – what do you know!  

            Another solar bankruptcy, post-government loan.

            Solar Trust of America seeks bankruptcy protection after trouble getting federal loan

            Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and California Gov. Jerry Brown were on hand last June when Solar Trust broke ground on a 1,000-megawatt project in California. The project was touted as the world’s largest solar power plant and a keystone of the Obama administration’s efforts to promote solar energy.

              1. Government loans are an integral part of paying back political fundraisers!

                Besides the initial loan, Chu also will be asked to explain why he approved a restructuring of Solyndra’s debt that allowed two private investors to move ahead of taxpayers for repayment in case of default. He also will be asked about possible political influence by two major Obama campaign donors, Steve Spinner and George Kaiser.

              1. And in my own support, as David points out, your oh, so, reinforcing graph shows the steepest and longest decline in production on Fed lands was during the Bush/Cheney years.

                Modification: cracked broom handle.

        2. The graph doesn’t show the nuances. Oil and gas companies are sitting on thousands of permits. It costs more to drill in some areas of public land – further away from resources, transportation costs higher, labor costs higher…

          There’s an increase in private land drilling, mainly because it is cheaper right now. Fewer regulations, as in Weld County, closer access to labor and water, and the gas is under private lands.

          Also market costs, global demand and economic factors are at play.

          But, yes, you’re right. The oil and gas companies are not drilling as much on public lands – only 18.6 quadrillion btus produced…

          1. …but the BTU is overvalued, much like the old Mexican Peso.

            🙂

            (Now, watch – someone is going to light me up over that one, and will see no humor in it.)

            1. is the part where you and your sidekicks don’t really even get that shale gas is just a big Ponzi scheme that is about to shit on Wallstreet…just like the mortgage debacle. Shale gas is incredibly overvalued.

              The wells deteriorate to “stripper” wells rapidly, hence the need for incessant drilling, done with investors’ money. The promise is that the nation will soon see a dramatic uptick in demand. That isn’t going to happen (for lots of economic reasons, not political ones), so the big players are all having the LNG import facilities altered into export facilities.

              Yes…it’s going to China..India..Europe. Why? They can get a higher price. I think natural gas was about $2.05 /mcf on the NYMEX yesterday.

              However, my dear capitalist friends, that won’t keep the overvalued shale gas plays from bringing down the commodities market, just like the phony mortgage trading brought down real estate. Who loses? Well we’ve seen this movie haven’t we?

              Anyway, explaining this to you feels a little like putting jet fuel in a lawnmower so…y’know…never mind.  

              1. You’re pretty brilliant, and not very caustic.  So I feel like I owe you a response.

                I know full well that there is very little Obama can do in the short term to reduce the price of gas.  I don’t care.  

                I want the price of fuel to hurt him in the election just like the Dems did (and campaigned on – let’s not pretend they didn’t) at times when Bush was in office.

                His energy policy, to me, and to many Americans, is disjointed at best.  He is placing faith and treasure into an industry that simply doesn’t exist at this time because the alternatives too expensive to compete with fossil fuels.  

                So he and others in his administration have flippantly suggested at times that government needs to make fossil fuels more expensive so that the new energy sources will be artificially more competitive.  I don’t agree that that’s a good idea, and that’s where we will probably disagree.

                But the President and others, talking about making fossil fuels more expensive makes for fantastic campaign ads, especially in light of his mishandling of Keysone and the BP disaster, and the fact that brent crude has been spiking.

                Just as the Dems would, the R’s are going to use every bad thing that’s happening, Obama’s direct fault or not, to get him out of office.

                It’s just nothing to take personally.

                1. not personal…but it is fun and entertaining to spar with you guys. If you didn’t have mouthy liberals like me to banter with, and I couldn’t bash neo-cons, what fun would there be in life?  🙂

                  The thing your side still doesn’t get, is that without the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines to protect their interests, free of charge, they would already be charging $15.00 per gallon for gasoline.

                  The amount of subsidy it requires to keep gasoline prices low is massive and in most cases, not figured into the obscene amount of support already given to the greedy bastards.

                  How much is O&G paying to protect the Strait of Hormuz?….um…nothing.

                  But it is the unbelievable fantasy of “Shale gas” that really starts to worry me. When this bubble bursts, it will really hurt.

              2. It’s sad that people look at the amount of oil and gas in America and assume it is all recoverable. You are spot on that much of our “proven reserves” are unobtainable unless oil prices skyrocket to 8-10 dollars a gallon.

                The worst part is that even when you explain this to people, they continue to blindly repeat numbers with no comprehension.  

                  1. which you linked.  

                    In February, the administration rescinded plans drawn up during the Bush years to open land in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah for shale-gas exploration. This area includes the Great River Formation, reported by the Rand Corporation to hold between 1.5 and 1.8 trillion barrels of crude oil. Overall, the American Petroleum Institute claims that leases on federal lands are down 44 percent from 2007.

                    Of course, you already know that there is NO oil there. It is called “Kerogen Rock” by those who actually know what it is. Leave it alone for a few million years and it will become oil. We have been trying to push that schedule for a hundred years…to no avail.

                    It’s OK though… I am working on a process to turn Unicorn poop into oil. If I can just get me some Federal subsidy money…I’m set.

                    1. If’n it weren’t for that Kenny Salazar we’d all be like Saudi princes–flying our big jets in and out of Rifle–and pumping 7 trillion barrels of oil a minute out of the greatest OIL SHALE reserve ever!  



                      GW Bush greeting the Rifle mayor before Obama destroyed the vibrant oil shale industry.  

                    2. I wish Keith Lambert, the mayor of Rifle during the Bush Administration, could see this post. He is a great guy and a strong Democrat, with a sense of humor. This would tickle the shit out of him.

                    3. I just retro-fitted it, and built a little stoker hatch and feeding bin in the bed.  

                      Oh wait, what’s the date?  

        3. That’s only a portion of the oil production. Not, like, all American production.

          In short, this is a crap chart that doesn’t prove a thing.

          1. Refining and end consumer product production are what we pay for….that means end user product….gels, fertizers, oils, and yes 92 octane gas for elite liberals AMGs and Bentelys.

            Obama’s failed policies have not only restricted core extraction, but established multiple speed bumps to consumer production.

            Didn’t you read that gas prices are up $.60 in the last month or two in Colorado.

            Have you bought milk or bread in the last year? Have you not noticed the massive price increases thrust upon us by the foresight of your Messiah? Now ask yourself if my or your paycheck has risen with the Messiah in office….like most Americans mine has decreased.

            Rising prices, reduced take home pay, and massive new national debt to pay for your Solydra dreams doesn’t make for sound economic growth.

            1. The increased production is expected to put further pressure on milk and dairy product prices in 2012 compared to the record levels in 2011. USDA’s mid-range all-milk price forecast fell to $18.35 per cwt compared to the $18.70 projection last month. The average all-milk price in 2011 was $20.14.”

              http://www.dairyherd.com/dairy…

              (I’m not saying that Obama made there be more cows and more milk, just that you are so full of crap it should be embarrassing).  

              Prices were up in 2011–something about that massive earthquake off japan that Obama caused…

              As of last month, beef prices were up 9.8% compared with the same month last year. Pork prices were up 6.9% and poultry was 3% higher. With fewer fertile hens around, egg prices were 10.2% higher; dairy was up 8.7%.

              The Japanese tsunami and earthquake in the spring pushed seafood prices up 5.9%. Fruits and vegetables also saw a bump, with apple prices up 9.6% year over year and potatoes up 12%.

              http://latimesblogs.latimes.co…

              1. Whats next, coal fired electric plants west of Detroit caused the earthquake?

                Obamas inflationary economic policies driven by printing money for Solydra should have worked out just fine….it was just the fact that incomes haven’t kept pace to pay for Obama’s strategy of rising prices and compounding national debt he’s pissed away on crony capitalism schemes.

                At least Hitlers national socialist policies took a holistic approach that considered the effects on disposable incomes….well it worked until he decided to invade Poland, the Czech and kill 6+ millions Jews, Catholics, Roma, etc….

                It’s time for Obama to conclude his rookie season and return to the Southside of Chicago where he can author a few more fictional tales.

                1. the dumbest thing you have ever said. What the fuck are you talking about?

                  At least try to connect your idiotic insults into some comprehensible sentences where one part of the sentence has bearing on the other.

                  I mean…gibberish is entertaining …but not very enlightening.

                  1. between elbee, ArapG and ‘tad, this may be the stupidest conglomeration of discredited rightie crap thread I’ve ever seen on this site. For starters ask any reputable economist, including conservative ones, how much presidential policies have to do with the price of oil and what we pay at the pump. That’s just for starters.  

                    1. we wouldn’t have dukeco1’s inspired rebuttals. Totally worth the waste of pixels by the Repug shills. Blog entertainment at its best. Go get ’em, dukeco1.  

                    3. “Your Grace”, referred to as “His Grace”. But if just plain “Duke” is OK with you, thanks. We can go with that.    

                    4. “your Grace” it is. But I eschew that sort of homage as inappropriate for a common man, such as myself. Duke is just fine.

                      Noblesse Oblige…  🙂  

                    5. El Duque

                      or

                      Le Duc

                      or

                      Il Duca

                      surely someone that posts so pretty and rebuts with such elan deserves a fitting nom de plume  

                    6. flattery will get you anywhere…

                      no, seriously. Thanks…and can we change the subject? I don’t know the emoticon for blushing.

    3. I hadn’t watched the ad until ArapaGOP mentioned that it was “horrible.” I guess if you are a Republican it is horrible to have to admit that your candidate is bought and paid for by big oil.

      Any expectation that oil and gas prices are going to stay low is the equivalent of sticking one’s head in the sand. The production that is easy to get out of the ground is shrinking. New production will be increasingly expensive either because the oil is sour instead of sweet crude or because the rock formations require more work to get them to release their hydrocarbon fuels.

      Obama is right to tell the American voter that no president can control the price of gasoline at the pump. It is a global commodity, and global markets determine the price. The party of business should know that, wouldn’t you think?

      1. Obama is right to tell the American voter that no president can control the price of gasoline at the pump. It is a global commodity, and global markets determine the price. The party of business should know that, wouldn’t you think?

        Riiiight.

        During his time in the Senate and while running for president, Obama received a total of $77,051 from the oil giant and is the top recipient of BP PAC and individual money over the past 20 years, according to financial disclosure records.

        1. Second: it is a disputed story:

          Palin falsely claimed “Obama was BP’s top recipient of both PAC and individual money for the last 20 years”

          Palin: It is an “undisputed fact that Barack Obama was BP’s top recipient of both PAC and individual money for the last 20 years.” In a responding to White House press secretary Robert Gibbs’ criticism of her suggestion on the May 23 edition of Fox News Sunday that there is a connection between “contributions made to President Obama” by oil companies and administration’s response to oil spill, Palin wrote on her Facebook page that it is an “undisputed fact that Barack Obama was BP’s top recipient of both PAC and individual money”:

          I pointed out that the media was rather silent on asking if there was a connection between the White House’s hands-off response to the spill and the undisputed fact that Barack Obama was BP’s top recipient of both PAC and individual money for the last 20 years. Please note that I never claimed there was a conspiratorial connection; rather, I was saying that it’s odd that so few in the media have asked that question. In fact, I believe Major Garrett is one of the few reporters to pursue the issue. You can be sure that if this were a Republican administration, at the very least the media would be asking that question nonstop.

          Obama received no PAC money from BP during his presidential campaign. As Media Matters noted, while Obama received $71,051 in BP-linked contributions during his presidential campaign — more BP money than any other candidate received — all of that money came from BP employees, not from BP’s PAC or from the company itself. A spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics confirmed that “the $71,051 that Obama received during the 2008 election cycle was entirely from BP employees.” The CRP spokesman also stated that “Obama did not accept contributions from political action committees, so none of this money is from BP’s PAC. And corporations themselves are prohibited from donating directly to candidates from their corporate treasuries.”

          http://mediamatters.org/resear…

          Third:even if it were entirely true and up to the minute it wouldn’t follow that, therefore an American President can control oil prices.  This is garbage piled on garbage as, once again, any reputable economist will tell you.

          1. BlueCat! Don’t you know that media matters is a totally biased site that has no credibility whatsoever!! If you want a real source go to the Washington Times or the Heritage Foundation. I mean its not like the Heritage foundation pushed the individual mandate as an alternative to the health care law that Clinton tried to pass.

  2. We can save millions of barrels of oil a year by getting better gas mileage out of our cars.  That is something the Drill-Baby-Drill idiots can’t comprehend but the rest of the electorate gets it.  The more miles per gallon, the more miles before refilling.  How innovative!

    Great ad to expand the dialogue to include non-drilling solutions to our energy needs.  Obama is out front again on the issue.  

          1. Can’t be.  The wires aren’t always here.  And not all the world lives in safe city-towns/suburbs/exurbs, where things plug in and towers transmit.  That area you see on the map where ATT doesn’t cover, and Verizon does not go…would you believe in Colorado a significant portion of that is without wires too!!?

            But, I hear tell there are these…things…in circular motion in the sly on the sky beaming directly television and even this thing called the ‘interweb’ which I hear tell is like a series of tubes connecting people to all they need to know and much more besides.  Still electric cars remain mostly an urban, perhaps near-exurban, option.  

            Your technological utopia awaits first a transformation of the human social-psyche I am afraid Mr. David.  But I admire your unshakable belief system.  

  3. Obama has succeeded in raising both our healthcare costs and fuel prices while reducing our purchasing power.

    It’s time to release the Rookie President, I hear the ACORN folks are looking for new leadership and he’s got demonstrated skills to lead their warped efforts.

      1. down mainstreat USA looking to bid out the cleanup contract.

        Your guy is in deep trouble and the usual leftist media has found it too expensive to pay for the usual liberal meds. The media pimps are starting to turn on you and Obama….they still don’t get the whole allocation of capital in free market society, but with every failing newspaper and reduced network anchor contract they’re slowly coming around to getting what it’s all about.

        Libertad, it’s about libertad you big government socialists. Now go grab your Spanish-English dictionary and look it up.

        1. that throws meaningless phrases together to make ridiculous statements…? or do you really make this shit up yourself?

          Oh..and tell the women of the country how much you support their personal freedom…

          you are a joke.

          keep posting…you are too much fun, Mr. Freedom… too much fun.

        2. then you could think for yourself — but you’re bound by the limits of such a simple mind and a weak will.  You’re the perfect ventriloquial vessel; incapable of speech or thought outside of accordance with the rightie conservatives’ groupthink.  You believe, to your soul, whatever your filtered confirmation-biased resources espouse and no one/nothing can prove otherwise.

          If only you were free … just think of the thinks you could think.    

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