This is a multiple choice test. Obama’s position on drilling offshore, as it affects Florida, is: (a) not to do it, (b) to do it within 50 miles of the Florida coast, (c) to drill, but to have some unspecified limit as drilling could hurt Florida’s tourist industry, (d) all of the above. The answer is (d) and it reflects a campaign strategy that Obama has very successfully followed. The strategy is to look at the polls, see what they reflect, and if necessary, change a position taken earlier that is now unpopular.
The position for Obama for some time was to oppose offshore drilling. Obama is quoted in USA Today on June 19, 2008. He called offshore drilling “another example of short-term political posturing from Washington.” That is a definitive statement on the issue. However, the price of fuel has continued to rise and people around the country and in Florida want some action. Recent polls in Florida have shown that the majority of people are for some type of offshore drilling. Obama held a press conference in Washington on August 1. This was covered by Lesley Clark and reported in The Miami Herald on August 2nd. She said Obama, “offered cautious praise Friday for a proposal (bi-partisan) in the U. S. Senate that would allow drilling in the Gulf of Mexico within 50 miles of the Florida coast.” This was a major change in his position. Obama was further quoted as saying that he was “skeptical that new offshore drilling will bring down gas prices in the short term or significantly reduce our oil dependence in the long term.” (It’s hard to figure out if he feels this way why he has changed his position.) Obama went on to call the plan “a good-faith effort and a new bipartisan beginning.” He came to Florida the next day to speak to the Urban League and had a press conference. In the conference, because of Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), he backed off his support of the bipartisan Senate proposal. He indicated that while he was for offshore drilling Florida’s tourist industry should be protected and that this must be taken into account in establishing a no-drilling zone.
In the space of one week he has been able to change a policy of no drilling to drilling, endorse offshore drilling within 50 miles of the Florida coast, and then modify that position to drilling but with no definite mileage limitation. The strategy allows him to keep Democratic Florida Senator Bill Nelson happy and hopefully the Florida voters. He has done this seamlessly with little coverage of the criticism from the McCain campaign and minimal criticism from the press.
This strategy started when Obama broke his promise to accept Federal funding for the general election and found there was little political fall out from the press or voters. Look at another example and that is the situation in Iraq. Obama’s position was for some time to have all the troops come home earlier this year. He also stated that the surge was a bad idea and wouldn’t work. He was wrong on both positions. He went overseas for a brief visit and has managed to put his poor judgment behind him. He has taken credit for pointing out the need for more troops in Afghanistan. He has followed the political axiom, never retreat, attack in a different direction. Many people thought that Pres. Clinton was the ultimate poll watcher in terms of his policies. Pres. Clinton is an amateur compared to Obama. The Obama campaign watches the polls carefully, changes their positions frequently and justifies the changes without cracking a smile. The Obama campaign continues to hit on all cylinders and if McCain cannot pin him down his chance of winning is minimal.
On another issue, the 2nd Annual Lou Frey Civic Leadership Academy was recently finished at the University of Central Florida. Students from across the state apply to attend this two week program which results in three college credits. The students pay to attend the academy and there are scholarships available for those who are not able to afford it. For those whose families can afford it, they are asked to have the students work to help pay for the tuition. The students are immersed in civics and at the end are required to present a bill to a “congressional committee” chaired by me which will either be sent back for more work, voted down, moved forward with amendments, or moved forward as presented. Among the topics covered were the Florida property insurance crisis, term limits, homelessness, energy, and the teaching of sex education. I will go into details of some of these proposals in the future. To give you an example, here is a paragraph about the Florida property insurance crisis:
“In theory, the private insurers could have avoided the entire crisis by simply increasing premiums before the actual hurricane struck Florida. However, most of the private insurers were at ease between 1992 and 2000’s, setting reasonable rates for the state thinking that another hurricane Andrew could not possibly reoccur. Over the next 11 years, the industry made a collective profit of $14 billion. This positive figure was completely negated, and then some, after the $26 billion record loss for 2003 to 2006.”
Stay tuned for the solution.
