I lived in the Gulf (Panama City Beach) in the very early Eighties, and i saw firsthand the damage done by 'offshore' drilling- the coastal area of Louisiana was trashed, and they even had mutant marine life to rival those three eyed fish from the Simpsons. I hope they have made progress in reducing the damage to the environment, because it wasn't pretty. Besides, I was under the impression that it's not a shortage that is causing this problem- it's unbridled speculation, due to the lifting of controls that had been set in place post-Great Depression.

What about starting to use the facilities that are already in place?

Make sure the infrastructure is up to par first.

I've seen the word "dope" used instead of "nope" in the Obama photos, but didn't find that funny. The "nope" isn't a slam on Obama himself, it just means "no, were not voting for you".

And I agree - people are deadx tired and sick of Bush. Hell, I'm a republican and I have been for quite some time. I am no McCain fan, but I realize Obama is not the Messiah and is making himself out to be a typical politician more and more every day.

You are indeed correct. But the specualtion is taking place because of the unease in the Middle East and Hugo Chavez. A supply of oil coming to America that is not from the Persian Gulf immediately reduces speculation.

It is also a function of the weakened dollar.

The Exxon-Valdez accident had nothing to do with offshore drilling - it had to do with transportation of oil from a land-based oil source. while many steps have been taken to ensure that an accident of this magnitude does not happen again, this kind of incident could just as easily happened with oil coming from the Middle East.

While there are no guarantees, significant strides have been made to ensure captivity of potential spills.

Not too many years ago, the exact same things were being said about the Democratic Party.

I truly believe that what the American Public is sick of the current two-party system and would like to see all of the old stalwarts (from BOTH parties) go away. Unfortunately, what most people are afraid of is change. Not the empty promise sound bite of change from Obama's current campaign, but a complete overall of our current political environment.

Who would you rather have making the profits: the "rich oilmen" or the Saudi's? I agree that domestic oil drilling (be it onshore or off), will probably not lower prices. It just brings it to the point of being profitable for the domestic oil companies to extract the oil and sell.

And I have no problem with the money being kept domestically (rather than paying OPEC). That means AMERICAN JOBS - people who work on the oil derricks, the people who work in the offices of the oil companies, etc. If you look at the old oil towns in Texas, Oklahoma, etc. you will see depressed regions that despearately need an influx of jobs. It is NOT just a couple of rich white guys that are benefitting - it is our nation's economy.

Exactly! If you're an OPEC leader and you just found out that America is going to start drilling off their own shores you're not going to say "well, that's going to take 10 years so I'll just keep the prices high until then"....you're going to want to sell as much oil as you can right now, while the prices are still high, rather than just sit on it waiting for competition to lower the demand.

Just announcing that we are going to drill off our shores will lower the prices now, because of speculation:)

And people who have invested in those corporations. Corporate profits are tied to the financial well being of the investor, which usually includes Joe Sixpacks retirement fund.

Granted. But I can't see those offshore eyesores being 100% fool proof.

How does the kool-aid taste, brother, sweet, or bitter?

Hmm, I don't get it, so 'Hope" and 'Messiah' are bound together and can not be separated? I say, no. Obama is not a messiah but he does offers hope. Hope for an end to poverty, hope from being sent to die in Bush's endless war, hope for better health care, hope for better race relations, hope from being lied to, hope for bluer skies and clean drinking water, hope for a return of our Constitution and our rights as citizens. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power, but they lie. They do not fulfill their promise, they never will.* Obama's FISA vote has shown that he is not the messiah, but a politician, but he may yet be a visionary. Obama has greatness in him, I really believe that to be true and he has within him the power to be the greatest president since Roosevelt or Lincoln. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress: the hate of men will pass and dictators die and the power they took from the people, will return to the people ... liberty will never perish ... In the seventeenth chapter of Saint Luke it is written " the kingdom of God is within man " - not one man, nor a group of men - but in all men - in you, the people.
... You the people have the power to make life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy let's use that power - let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give you the future and security in old age.

So vote OBAMA!

Oh yeh, and stop offshore drilling!

* with sincere apologies to Charles Chaplin and The Great Dictator

Tell that to the good peons of Enron. (And all the others who have lost their retirement due to corporate greed, speculation and deregulation of the energy industry). Industries aren't regulated for nothing- there is always a very good reason, and it usually involves greed and lack of concern for anyone but the people who stand to benefit the most. Trickle down economics is not only a myth, it's a lie. It's a lie that is destroying our country.

Further- the oil mess has greatly impacted the dollar, so it's almost a case of 'chicken vs egg' here. I know the current state of affairs is most certainly not helping the dollar.