Attacks on Obama
Romney's White Paper on Energy serves up a whopper: "President Obama has intentionally sought to shut down oil, gas, and coal production in pursuit of his own alternative energy agenda."
Then why is production of oil and natural gas up? Why did the US import 60 percent of its oil in 2005, under Bush Jr., but 45 percent in 2011, under Obama? Romney cherrypicks a drop in oil and gas drilling leases that occurred from 2010 to 2011, forgetting that drilling went down under Bush Jr. and rose under Obama.
Romney protests moratoria that Obama imposed on offshore drilling, ignoring the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster that prompted them. To hell with fishing and beaches--Mitt would have trusted BP and friends.
Coastguard -- Deepwater Horizon Fire by Florida Sea Grant
For better or worse, the moratoria have been lifted in the Gulf of Mexico. Up north Obama has let Shell do exploratory drilling in the Arctic Ocean, off Alaska.
Romney says Obama blocks the Keystone pipeline, depriving Americans of oil. In fact Keystone has been carrying oil to an Illinois refinery since 2010. What Obama delayed is the Keystone XL extension, designed to carry Canadian oil to a deepwater port at Houston, where it would be available for export.
Every Republican president since Nixon said they'd boost domestic oil production. Instead, it declined 16 percent under Reagan and Big Bush, 15 percent under Little Bush.
In contrast, US oil production went up under Carter and gained six percent during Obama's first three years in office. Other factors were at work, but the contrast nonetheless highlights the emptiness of claims made by GOP presidents.
Now Romney makes the same promise and sounds like he'd provide American gasoline for Americans' SUVs. In reality oil and gas production will rise in the next few years no matter who is president. Despite those gains, oil imports will continue.
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