Excerpted from McClatchy Newspapers, August 1, 2008
Headline: “In major change, Obama says he’ll support offshore drilling”
Barack Obama Friday dropped his opposition to offshore oil drilling, saying he could go along with the idea if it was part of a broader energy package. Obama made his comments in St. Petersburg during an interview with the Palm Beach Post.
“My interest is in making sure we’ve got the kind of comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices … in order to get that passed, we have to compromise in terms of a careful, well thought-out drilling strategy that was carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage.
The change is dramatic because Obama often pointed to his opposition to drilling as a key difference between himself and presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
But the concept has proven popular, and McCain has made it a centerpiece of his stump speeches and some of his television ads. Political momentum has been moving in favor of opening up U.S. coastlines.
Obama also said, in a separate statement issued by his campaign, that he supported the bipartisan energy plan offered by 10 senators Friday.
The proposal would end most of the ban on drilling. It would allow a 50-mile buffer on the east coast, as well as Florida’s west coast. Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina would be permitted to start oil and natural gas exploration outside the buffer.
Currently, the government bans exploration and drilling on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts and most of the eastern Gulf of Mexico, to protect U.S. beaches and fisheries from pollution.
For full article: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/46174.html
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Other confirming articles:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/08/02/america/NA-POL-US-Elections.php
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080802/ap_on_el_pr/obama
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