By Jonathan Weisman TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- Sen. Barack Obama sought yesterday to portray a shift in his stand on off-shore oil drilling as a show of his pragmatic, centrist governing style, saying he recognized drilling as the price Republicans would extract for his broader goals of energy independence. But Republicans claimed it was a politically motivated stand by the presumptive Democratic nominee, even though McCain made a similar switch earlier this year. On Friday, Obama embraced an effort by five Democratic senators and five Republicans to break Congress's energy impasse with legislation that expands off-shore oil exploration and embrace ambitious energy efficiency and alternative fuels development efforts. Republicans have seized on the drilling issue, hoping to finally get political traction amid soaring gasoline prices. Democratic leaders have done everything possible to stand in their way. Obama said yesterday it is time to compromise. The proposal by the so-called Gang of 10 senators has "some of the very aggressive elements that I've outlined in my plan," he told reporters here, including a goal in 20 years of having 85 percent of cars no longer operating on petroleum-based fuels and to provide $7 billion to help the U.S. auto industry retool to build ultra-efficient vehicles. "What I don't want is for the best to be the enemy of the good here, and if we can come up with a genuine, bipartisan compromise in which I have to accept some things I don't like, or the Democrats have to accept some things that they don't like, in exchange for moving us in the direction of energy independence, than that's something I'm open to," Obama said. "I wanted to send a strong signal that we can't allow partisan bickering or the desire to score political points to get in the way of providing some genuine relief to people who are struggling." Since securing the Democratic nomination in June, Obama has taken a series of steps toward the political center, embracing a bipartisan compromise on warrantless wiretapping, accepting a Supreme Court decision against a District handgun ban, decrying another decision banning the death penalty for child rapists and hinting at limits to mental-health reasons for late-term abortions. For Obama, the drilling issue may offer the strongest reason yet for compromise. New polls, even in Florida and California, where opposition to offshore exploration has been strongest, suggest U.S. public opinion is shifting under the weight of $4-a-gallon gasoline. Obama left open his options yesterday, saying the Senate compromise's "drilling provisions are about as careful and responsible as you might expect from a drilling agenda" but that he remains skeptical. "We can't drill our way out of the problem," he said. But "I also recognize that in the House and the Senate, there are Republicans who have very clear ideas about what they want, and at some point people are going to have to make some decisions. Do we want to keep on arguing, or are we going to get some things done?" The campaign of John McCain claimed credit for leading Obama to his new position. But it is not clear how far Obama's endorsement will get the Senate compromise. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) shut down the chamber and sent the House home for a five-week August recess Friday rather than have a vote on expanded drilling. She framed her position as an effort to save the planet. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has been only slightly less ardent. The Senate package would repeal tax breaks for oil companies that Democrats have been fighting for two years, would fund more research into fuel efficiency, and would extend tax breaks for renewable electricity sources. The states would have the final say in approving drilling plans on the Outer Continental shelf, no closer than 50 miles from the shore
Its POSUERING.... Drilling won't happen, even if its approved in the next Energy Policy. The Congress will turn around on it when they feel they have the upper hand, right now they don't wanna seem like they aren't trying to help Americans because Neo Cons have been sucessful in saying Liberals HATE America, but Neo Cons HATE Americans.... See the difference?
