The President”s offshore drilling “plan” is nothing of the sort, just a smoke and mirrors sideshow in anticipation of the cap and trade debate later this year.  This measure might (if we”re lucky) bring new resources to market within a decade, assuming the exploration starts on time – in the next two years.  Yawn.  The commodity did not react favorably to the announcement.  In fact, crude prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed on the same day at a 16-month high.  Hello $3 gas prices for the summer.

(Shouldn”t opening up more supply make the price go down?)

One wonders what American statesmen would have thought about the President having the unilateral authority to manage the nation”s energy supply.  (We are still searching Article 2 of the Constitution for such an authority – no success yet).

Whatever government is not a government of laws, is a despotism, let it be called what it may.

Daniel Webster