Obama Offers Misleading Statements and Campaign Politics Instead of Viable Energy Policy

The Campaigner in Chief just can't stop repeating the same phony election year rhetoric no matter how absurd he appears!

Ask your Obama loving friends this question: How many years of domestic supply of oil exist in the United States?

A. Less than 20 years.
B. Less than 50 years.
C. Less than 100 years.
D. More than 100 years.

If they answer anything but D they have likely been listening to Obama's speeches on energy. On Thursday Obama gave yet another energy speech to a hastily assembled crowd at Prince George's Community College in Largo, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. For this handpicked audience he got the crowd all fired up with the same recycled rhetoric he has used on countless other occasions.

He repeated his now famous "no silver bullet" solution line. It's one he has used over and over and over again (see the video). You'd think he could come up with some new material but apparently repetition is easier for Obama than actually coming up with effective policy to address critical challenges like high gas prices.

Once again, Obama claimed that his Administration has opened up vast new areas for oil exploration but ignores the fact that agencies under his control have slow walked permit approval to the point where energy companies are handcuffed in their search for new resources. Behind the scenes, the Obama Administration is doing everything they can to restrict development of new petroleum resources. The fact is that the only area in which U.S. production of energy is growing is in the private sector where government is less of a factor.

Next Obama launches into his favorite milieu, the setting up of phony straw men arguments that are designed to make his critics appear ridiculous even though no one is actually suggesting what he is saying. Here's an excerpt:

So do not tell me that we’re not drilling. (Applause.) We’re drilling all over this country. (Applause.) I guess there are a few spots where we’re not drilling. We’re not drilling in the National Mall. (Laughter.) We’re not drilling at your house. (Laughter.) I guess we could try to have, like, 200 oil rigs in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay.

But this straw man is just the set up for a whopper that Obama is doubling down on in speech after speech. The latest version:

There’s a problem with a strategy that only relies on drilling and that is, America uses more than 20 percent of the world’s oil. If we drilled every square inch of this country -- so we went to your house and we went to the National Mall and we put up those rigs everywhere -- we’d still have only 2 percent of the world’s known oil reserves. Let’s say we miss something -- maybe it’s 3 percent instead of 2. We’re using 20; we have 2.

Saying we only have 2% of world reserves is misleading. It gives the impression that we have very little oil when the fact is we have more than Saudi Arabia. Obama's own Energy Information Agency (EIA) describes known reserves this way: "proved reserves are an accounting concept that is based on known projects and is not an appropriate measure for judging total resource availability in the long-term." Perhaps the EIA needs to send the White House a note on the subject.

The Washington Post Fact Checker couldn't bring themselves to say Obama lied about U.S. oil resources. But in a rather tortured explanation they found his claims to be "True but False." Sort of like Dan Rather's "fake but accurate?"

Investor's Business Daily put it all in perspective with this story and the following chart:

American oil use has leveled off at somewhat less than 20 million barrels per day. With TRILLIONS of barrels in petroleum resources we have a supply that can last for hundreds of years. Plenty of time to develop Obama's favorite alternative, algae, as a long term replacement. That is unless by then we are all flying spaceships using air for fuel.

For Obama, Gas Price is a Political Football

One last point from Obama's speech Tuesday:

And every time prices start to go up -- especially in an election year -- politicians dust off their 3-point plans for $2.00 gas. (Laughter.) I guess this year they decided, we're going to make it $2.50. (Laughter.) I don't know where -- why not $2.40? (Laughter.) Why not $2.10? (Laughter.) But they tell the same story. They head down to the gas station; they make sure a few cameras are following them -- (laughter) -- and then they start acting like we've got a magic wand and we will give you cheap gas forever if you just elect us. (Laughter.) Every time. Been the same script for 30 years. It's like a bad rerun. (Laughter.)

Obama's "bad rerun"

From a 2008 campaign event in Kokomo Indiana:

Candidate Obama Uses Kokomo, Indiana gas station as campaign prop in 2008. Check out the sign. Gas then was $3.55. At the same station now gas is over $3.80

"Everywhere I go in Indiana and across this country, I'm talking to folks who are working harder and harder just to get by," said Obama.

"We need a president who's looking out for families in Indiana, not just what's good for multi-national corporations. And that's the kind of president I intend to be," said Obama.

"At a time when our economy is in turmoil and wages are stagnant, hardworking families are struggling to meet rising costs, and few costs are rising faster than the ones people pay at the pump," he said.

Now, four years later America's "struggling families" already reeling from record sustained high unemployment are paying even higher prices for gas than four years ago when Obama used Joe's Junction gas station as a campaign prop. And since taking office, Obama's policies have made the situation MUCH WORSE!

Oil from Strategic Reserve Not a Solution to High Gas Prices

Too bad Obama has vetoed the long term energy solutions that WOULD lower gas prices!

How many times in the last week have we heard some variation from the White House that Obama is not to blame for high gas prices? According to Obama's apologists, it's not his fault and he can't do much to change the situation. Here's Obama in his own words recycling the same rhetoric that there is "no silver bullet" to bring down energy prices:



Obama to release oil from Strategic Reserve?

Even though Obama has repeatedly said that high gas prices are not his fault and claimed that he can't do much to help, the political ground has shifted under Obama's feet and all of a sudden his Administration is talking about a release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The Reserve is intended for disruptions in supply during a national emergency and could pump more than 4 million barrels of oil per day into the U.S. system (Dept. of Energy fact sheet). But depleting the reserve is only a short term solution and supplies that are drawn down would have to be replaced at much higher cost.

Keystone Pipeline 1.29 Million Barrels of Oil Per Day. Every Day for Decades!

A more effective long term solution would be to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline [fact sheet] which at peak capacity can provide 1.29 million barrels of oil per day. Bringing that supply into the U.S. from Canada would alleviate any short term market disruptions and help to ease pressure on higher prices. And unlike a short term release from the reserve, Keystone is a pipeline that would operate for decades.

But instead of supporting the pipeline Obama has gone out of his way to stall approval with an eye towards appeasing hard left environmentalist supporters.

A short term release from the Strategic Reserve won't do anything to tackle the long term problem of rising energy prices. What's needed is a REAL "all of the above" plan, not more of Obama's political posturing and half measures!

Surprise Surprise! Obama Care to Cost Nearly DOUBLE Original Projection

What do you bet it costs TRIPLE or more?

We warned America this was coming. From Phillip Klein at the Washington Examiner:

President Obama's national health care law will cost $1.76 trillion over a decade, according to a new projection released today by the Congressional Budget Office, rather than the $940 billion forecast when it was signed into law.

Democrats employed many accounting tricks when they were pushing through the national health care legislation, the most egregious of which was to delay full implementation of the law until 2014, so it would appear cheaper under the CBO's standard ten-year budget window and, at least on paper, meet Obama's pledge that the legislation would cost "around $900 billion over 10 years." When the final CBO score came out before passage, critics noted that the true 10 year cost would be far higher than advertised once projections accounted for full implementation.

Today, the CBO released new projections from 2013 extending through 2022, and the results are as critics expected: the ten-year cost of the law's core provisions to expand health insurance coverage has now ballooned to $1.76 trillion. That's because we now have estimates for Obamacare's first nine years of full implementation, rather than the mere six when it was signed into law. Only next year will we get a true ten-year cost estimate, if the law isn't overturned by the Supreme Court or repealed by then. Given that in 2022, the last year available, the gross cost of the coverage expansions are $265 billion, we're likely looking at about $2 trillion over the first decade, or more than double what Obama advertised.

UPDATE: I've done another post with additional details from the CBO report.

I'm reminded of Gomer Pyle's famous line "surprise, surprise!" (go ahead, play the audio). But it's not really a surprise is it? Knowing that entitlement programs ALWAYS cost much, much more than projected this news is just par for the course.

But it does put the lie to Obama's claim that his health care plan was fiscally responsible. Again, no surprise there either!

Dem Congresswomen, Vocal Critics of Rush Limbaugh, Silent on Hate Speech from Bill Maher

Not that anyone really thought their criticism of Rush was based on anything but pure politics!


Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was highly critical of Rush Limbaugh after he called contraception activist Sandra Fluke a "prostitute" and a "slut." She told one interviewer: "I wouldn’t want those words repeated in my office."

In an orchestrated campaign, female Democrats in the House of Representatives followed Pelosi's lead and found their way to the microphones to trash Rush. Rep Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) made a strong statement condemning Rush as did Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX).

Knowing that Bill Maher has said things far worse about Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann, a citizen journalist videoblogging at Frank Strategies tracked down former Speaker Pelosi in the halls of congress and asked whether she also condemned Maher's statements. Silence was the only answer.

The same in the following exchange with both Reps. Jackson Lee and Schakowsky. Watch:

REPORTER: Congresswoman, quick question. I know you’ve been outspoken about Rush Limbaugh; in light of Bill Maher’s comments that Sarah Palin is a “cunt” and “dumb twat,” are you going to call on Obama’s Super PAC to return the million dollars they got from Bill Maher? And if not, why not?

REPORTER: Why are you refusing to condemn that remark, ma’am? Do you find that okay? That discourse?

REPORTER: Congresswoman, quick question. I know you’ve put out a statement about Rush Limbaugh, condemning his remarks, understandably. Have you put out a similar statement calling on the president’s Super PAC to return the $1 million that he got from Bill Maher? Why not? Is that an acceptable thing to call a woman?

REPORTER: Why won’t you speak out? Isn’t misogyny misogyny no matter which side does it?

"Why won’t you speak out? Isn’t misogyny misogyny no matter which side does it?" Well, that pretty much sums it up. It's obvious from watching the tape and from the silence that descends when left wing hate speech is put under the spot light that these Democrat women don't really care what vile names you call a Republican woman. This isn't about respect for women. It's all about politics.

As I have said on so many similar occasions there will never be any improvement in the quality of  public discourse if Democrats continue to exempt their own from the same standards they daily demand of Republicans.

Thanks Red Hunter for finding the video!

Promises, Promises. Charting Obama's Epic Fail

Contrast his promises with his record with these graphs!

So far we're gearing up for election day with the famous "Obama by the Numbers chart" followed by the equally useful list of items from "If the economy is really so great then why is...." topped off with the fully documented list of Obama's Epic Fail, a fulsome series of stats, all well documented, showing why Obama's presidency is a failure by every measure imagineable.

But sometimes, it helps to step back from all that number crunching and put it all in simple, easy to understand at a glance charts.

Share these with your friends who pay more attention to pop culture than they do to politics and see if a light bulb doesn't come on for them. Hopefully that light bulb won't be one of Obama's new $50 "green" bulbs....

Employment FAIL!

Obama promised that if we gave him what he wanted for the nearly $TRILLION stimulus bill in early 2009 that unemployment would not go above 8%. A $TRILLION later and it's stuck at 8.3%.

Health Insurance FAIL!

Obama repeatedly promised that if we adopted his health care plan that the average family would save $2,500 a year by the end of his first term. Instead of the price coming down, health insurance rates are skyrocketing almost as fast as electric rates and gasoline:

Notice that premiums dropped all during the Bush years. Remember that next time Obama asks if you want to go "back to the failed policies of the past."

Now, Obama's spokesperson says that the savings will be less than $2,000 and won't materialize until 2019 at the earliest!

Fiscal Responsiblity Fail!

When Obaam first came into office he and his team talked about a "new era of fiscal responsiblity." Keep in mind that Obama called $4 trillion added to the national debt under George Bush "unpatriotic." Obama has blown the lid off the debt chart:


Gas Price FAIL!

Four years ago then candidate Obama was leading the charge for Democrats criticizing Bush for high gas prices. Now, he says that the President plays little role in managing gas prices. But back then, people like Peggy Joseph thought Obama was there to help. Remember this?

How's that working out for you Peggy?

During the 2008 campaign the Obama team put out an impressive energy proposal which stated that Barack Obama has a comprehensive energy plan that provides immediate relief to struggling familes," and promised to "provide short-term relief to American families facing pain at the pump." In that same policy statement he signaled that he would  "confront[] our dependence on foreign oil." Instead, he's shut down American oil development on federal lands and made us more vulnerable to price shocks in the overseas petroleum market. Click on points in the following interactive chart and decide for yourself whether Obama is to blame for high gas prices:



We'll keep adding new charts and stats as we get nearer to the campaign. The message is clear, Obama's presidency has been an EPIC FAILURE!

Video Exposes Dem Hypocrisy on Hate Speech Towards Women

And just look how closely Obama and top Dems have associated themselves with the haters!

Earlier this week I posted on Obama's press conference where he said the was thinking of his daughters and how he wouldn't want them attacked or called names for "being good citizens." This was another attempt to gin up anger towards Rush Limbaugh for calling contraception activist a "prostitute." Obama went on to say that “All decent folks can agree, that the remarks that were made don’t have any place in the public discourse."

I went on to contrast how comedian Bill Maher and others closely associated with Democrats (Bill Maher brags about giving $1 million to help Obama's re-election campaign) are given a pass by Obama and the Democrats.

But there's nothing like a well made video to make that case with words and pictures. The following is from ShePac.com which represents conservative women in politics. WARNING, some of the language is vile and offensive:


Did you notice Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Chair of the Democrat National Committee and a frequent finger pointer at Republicans when it comes to civility appearing on Bill Maher's show? And of course I hope you didn't miss Obama's appearances on Letterman.

One Small Glimmer of Hope: Vile Comedian Withdraws from Radio/Tv Dinner

The Radio and Television Correspondents Association, a Washington based group of media and journalists had invited a comedian Louis C.K. to be the headliner at their annual dinner in June. Here are some of the things C.K. has said about Sarah Palin:

Gretawire: Louis C.K. says of Palin: “her f*** retard making c***” and “the baby that just came out of her f**** disgusting c***.”
To Palin: just “stick your t** in its mouth and shut up.”   
And here is more: ”…her f***** retard making c****”
Need more to convince you? Here is what he says on twitter:
“I want to rub my father’s c*** all over Sarah Palin’s fat t***”
By the way, there is more, lots more.

Fortunately, due to the controversy, Louis C.K. has withdrawn from participation in the dinner. But it's a sign of the one sided concern over civility that someone with such a record of hate speech would have been invited in the first place by a left leaning organization.

As I have said numerous times in the past nothing will ever change as long as those on the left are exempt from the standards they daily demand of those on the right. And considering how much more vile the comments coming from the left are compared to what Rush Limbaugh or others on the right have said I see no chance of any improvement in public discourse any time soon!

Obama's Answer to Skyrocketing Electricity Prices: An Energy Saving Light Bulb that Costs $50

Oh, but it creates "green jobs" and is government subsidized!

Earlier this week I posted the story about how electricity rates have "necessarily skyrocketed" (Obama's words) in the age of Obama's wonderful transition to "green" alternatives. In states adopting Obama's green energy plan electricity rates have gone up between 32% and 54%.

That extra burden on families already struggling with high energy prices and unemployment is staggering; especially for the poor.

Well, the next step in Obama's green energy revolution is a light bulb whose price is astronomical. And yes, like the Chevy Volt, a car no one wants to buy, your light bulb will be subsidized by the government. But it will still cost $50. The Washington Post has the story.

The new bulb is supposed to be an alternative to the compact fluorescent bulbs that contain toxic mercury and never last the years of operating life that was promised (a third of mine are already dead). But at $50 each how could a family afford to replace the bulbs in their home?

I'm all in favor of new technology that is practical and cost effective. Yet what we see with this latest "green" bulb is a government that is out of touch with the economic reality facing most families!

Obama Promotes "All of the Above" Energy Strategy While Lobbying to Block Keystone Pipeline

A perfect illustration of why Obama is NOT interested in lowering gas prices!

Obama was in North Carolina on Wednesday talking about his "all of the above" energy policy. Here is what the White House blog had to say about the trip:

Today, President Obama made a trip to a manufacturing plant for Daimler Trucks North America in Mount Holly, North Carolina. He was in the Tar Heel state to discuss more ways his administration is taking an all-of-the-above approach to American energy.

He talked about how his administration is pursuing new domestic energy sources, expanding oil and gas production, and reducing our overall reliance on oil through development of renewable energy.

Really? Obama is pursing an "all of the above" energy policy? Then explain this:

“President Barack Obama is intervening in a Senate fight over the Keystone XL oil pipeline and personally lobbying Democrats to reject an amendment calling for its construction, according to several sources familiar with the talks. The White House lobbying effort, including phone calls from the president to Democrats, signals that the vote could be close when it heads to the floor Thursday. The president is trying to defeat an amendment that would give election-year fodder to his Republican critics who have accused him of blocking a job-creating energy project at a time of high gas prices.” (POLITICO, 3/7/12)

Under management by the Obama Administration oil and gas production on federal lands (30% of all land in the U.S. is owned by the government) is down 40% due to restrictive Administration policies. Blocking the Keystone pipeline is just another example of ways Obama is restricting development of available North American petroleum and the jobs that go with it.

Obama's "all of the above" strategy is predicated on restricting new supplies of petroleum leaving us more dependent on higher cost oil from overseas! And Obama claims he is not responsible for higher gas prices? Please!

Under Obama Electricty Rates Have "Necessarily Skyrocketed"

It's one of the few promises Obama has kept!

Remember this?

Then candidate Obama met with the
 San Francisco Chronicle editorial board in January 2008:

 "Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket," Obama told the Chronicle . "Coal-powered plants, you know, natural gas, you name it, whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers."

Congress, even one controlled by Democrats refused to pass Obama's Cap and Trade bill, but like other aspects of Obama's anti-constitutional reign, he usually finds a way to get what he wants.

In this case, he has thus far succeeded in forcing "green" energy down our throats putting the bite on every single American family already struggling with unemployment and high gas prices. Liz Peek writing in the Fiscal Times summarizes a new study on green energy:

A new report from Robert Bryce of the Manhattan Institute details the harm done by the fanciful quest for clean energy at any price. Mr. Bryce has studied the impact of so-called “renewable portfolio standards” (RPS) – the kind of directive that Mr. Obama wants to set for the entire nation -- on the 29 states that have adopted these required minimum mandates for “green” energy. He finds that forcing utilities to buy wind and solar energy drives up electricity costs and slows growth. Specifically, in the states adopting RPS, electricity costs were on average 32 percent higher than in states without such mandates. In coal-dependent states, the damage is even worse; in the past decade, those regions have suffered a 54 percent hike in electricity costs.

In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Obama called for a renewable portfolio standard for the entire country – 80 percent to come from clean energy by 2035. Can our country afford to ladle sharply higher power costs on citizens and businesses?

From Byrce's study comes this conclusion:

The mandates amount to a "back-end way to put a price on carbon," says one former federal regulator. Put another way, the higher cost of electricity is essentially a de facto carbon-reduction tax, one that is putting a strain on a struggling economy and is falling most heavily, in the way that regressive taxes do, on the least well-off among residential users.
...
Our study highlights another pattern as well, of a disconnect between the optimistic estimates by government policymakers of the impact that the mandates will have on rates and the harsh reality of the soaring rates that typically result. In some states, the implementation of mandate levels is proceeding so rapidly that residential and commercial users are being locked into exorbitant rates for many years to come. The experiences of Oregon, California, and Ontario (which is subject to a similar mandate plan) serve as case studies of how rates have spiraled.

Let's repeat a portion of that last paragraph: "a disconnect between the optimistic estimates by government policymakers of the impact that the mandates will have on rates and the harsh reality of the soaring rates that typically result." Isn't that always the case when government interferes in the normal economic cycle? Rosy projections usually turn sour but only after the damage is done and it's too late to go back. But don't say we didn't warn you.

No one is surprised that Obama would take a "back door" approach to get what he wants. Also, I doubt that few are surprised that his policy did actually succeed in forcing electricity rates to "skyrocket." But just remember that even though you may be having trouble paying the electric bill while putting gas in the car and feeding your family it's for your own good. Obama said so!

Obama Wants Civility for His Daughters From Right Wing Critics but Not from Left Wing Supporters

Would it be OK if a Democrat called one of his daughters an insulting name?
So, Tuesday afternoon rolls around and Obama was still making hay over the Rush Limbaugh slip of calling contraception activist Sandra Fluke a "prostitute." Again, he stands at the White House podium wagging his finger to denounce Rush Limbaugh:

Obama Says Limbaugh Remarks Had No Place in Public Discourse
Says He Thought of His Daughters When He Called Sandra Fluke
By Sophie Quinton
National Journal
March 6, 2012

President Obama said on Tuesday that called Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke because he wanted to set an example for his daughters, and young people in general, after conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh called Fluke names.

"The reason that I called Ms. Fluke is that I thought about Malia and Sasha," Obama told a news conference.

"I want them to be able to speak their mind in a civil and thoughtful way, and I don’t want them attacked, or called horrible names, because they’re being good citizens. And I thought Sandra should know that I thought her parents should be proud of her."

Fluke made national headlines when she testified in support of the administration's decision to require all employers to provide contraceptive care as part of health insurance coverage, with "accommodations" for religiously affiliated employers.

Limbaugh has since apologized for singling out Fluke for her testimony, after he called her a "prostitute" and a "slut". Obama called her last week to show his support.

“All decent folks can agree, that the remarks that were made don’t have any place in the public discourse," Obama said.

Well, if Rush calling Sandra Fluke a "prostitute" for deliberately setting up the issue of contraception at Georgetown Law (she choose Georgetown after knowing that they did not offer free contraceptives) then how does Obama feel about the hate speech his supporters direct at conservative women?

Kirsten Powers writing at the Daily Beast catalogs examples of left wing hate speech that are far worse than what Limbaugh said about Fluke:

During the 2008 election Ed Schultz said on his radio show that Sarah Palin set off a “bimbo alert.” He called Laura Ingraham a “right-wing slut.” (He later apologized.) He once even took to his blog to call yours truly a “bimbo” for the offense of quoting him accurately in a New York Post column.

Keith Olbermann has said that conservative commentator S.E. Cupp should have been aborted by her parents, apparently because he finds her having opinions offensive. He called Michelle Malkin a “mashed-up bag of meat with lipstick.” He found it newsworthy to discuss Carrie Prejean’s breasts on his MSNBC show. His solution for dealing with Hillary Clinton, who he thought should drop out of the presidential race, was to find “somebody who can take her into a room and only he comes out.” Olbermann now works for über-leftist and former Democratic vice president Al Gore at Current TV.

Left-wing darling Matt Taibbi wrote on his blog in 2009, “When I read [Malkin’s] stuff, I imagine her narrating her text, book-on-tape style, with a big, hairy set of balls in her mouth.” In a Rolling Stone article about Secretary of State Clinton, he referred to her “flabby arms.” When feminist writer Erica Jong criticized him for it, he responded by referring to Jong as an “800-year old sex novelist.” (Jong is almost 70, which apparently makes her an irrelevant human being.) In Taibbi’s profile of Congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann he labeled her “batshit crazy.” (Oh, those “crazy” women with their hormones and all.)

There are more examples...many more in Powers's article.

Will Obama Ask Super Pac to Return $1 Million Contribution from Maher?
Comedian Bill Maher, noted  for the vile and insulting things he has said about Republican women recently gave $1 million to the Super Pac supporting Obama's re-election. Will the Obama campaign give back the money and disavow such hateful language? Don't bet on it!

At the Tuesday Press Conference there was one half-hearted attempt to squeeze in a question about Bill Maher's conduct but it was quietly ignored.

As long as those on the left loudly condemn Republican speech they find offensive while turning a blind eye to far worse speech coming from their side there will be no improvement in the overall civility that Obama and the Dems say they champion!