Weekly Political Roundup — Energy’s Moment in the Sun
Posted April 2, 2010 at 8:23 am 
Filed in: It finally appears as if winter is turning to spring in Washington, and as if healthcare’s season is turning to energy’s moment in the sun. More specifically, hope springs eternal that the days when climate eclipsed energy security are behind us. President Obama made the encouraging announcement Wednesday that the federal government will pursue oil and gas development in areas off the Atlantic Coast and in new areas in the Gulf of Mexico.
Critics have dismissed the gesture as an election year insulation against rising oil prices — which, for the record, rose to $84 this week for the first time in 17 months (http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/31/markets/oil/?postversion=2010033115). Even if it was intended as an insult, the administration should perceive it a compliment, as avoiding a “drill, baby, drill” redux would be a deft political maneuver for the already-ailing Democrats. That said, they’d be wise not to take supply proponents for suckers, lest their true motivation be an effort to recruit Republicans for some sort of climate-energy fusion effort.
Democrats would also be wise not to take the voting public for fools, either, as they already are ‘in a mood’ and have been predisposed to view Democrats with suspicion on drilling. Merely ‘talking the talk’ will leave them vulnerable, so long as Congress refuses to lift the Eastern Gulf moratorium. It is also wise for the Obama administration to follow through on lease sales in all of the areas in which exploration and production are not under moratorium (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/35284.html). The Dems have been warned, so they may need to produce on production to avoid being put on the defensive on this issue for the second election in a row. Democrats’ costly turnover in the summer of 2008 posed the largest threat to victory and they surely need all the help they can muster this time around. Clinging to false claims of threats to Gulf military testing is surely a losing strategy that must be abandoned.
Energy is surely the major issue with the most bipartisan precedent and promise, but building a winning coalition in 2010 will require a delicate policy balance, some rather quick work, and a suspension of election year-gamesmanship, which is no small task.
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