June 17, 2008

McCain: Time To Drill Offshore For More Oil

Republican presidential nominee John McCain is announcing today his support for resumption of offshore oil drilling, while Democrat noninee Barack Obama and the national Democrat party remain opposed to it even as gas prices surge above $4 a gallon nationwide.

Good timing, McCain: New polling from Rasmussen indicates that most voters - including most Democrats - favor the resumption of offshore oil drilling in the United States.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey - conducted before McCain announced his intentions on the issue - finds that 67% of voters believe that drilling should be allowed off the coasts of California, Florida and other states. Only 18% disagree and 15% are undecided. Conservative and moderate voters strongly support this approach, while liberals are more evenly divided (46% of liberals favor drilling, 37% oppose).

... Nearly all voters are worried about rising gas and energy prices, with 79% very concerned and 16% somewhat concerned.

McCain is expected to formally call today (Tuesday) for the lifting of the federal moratorium on states being allowed to explore off their coasts for oil and gas deposits.

... The Outer Continental Shelf moratorium, passed in 1981, bans exploration for offshore natural gas and oil deposits. Barack Obama, McCain's opponent for the White House, voted against an effort to lift the ban last year in the Senate. He argued that it was only a short-term solution. National Democratic Party leaders and most environmental organizations for years have strongly opposed efforts to explore for oil off the coast of the U.S.

According to the new survey, 85% of Republicans are in favor of offshore drilling as opposed to 57% of Democrats and 60% of unaffiliated voters. Those who call themselves conservatives favor such drilling 84% to 46% of liberals and 59% of self-designated moderates.