Offshore drilling back in spotlight

President Bush waded back into the presidential campaign today, declaring that he will lift the executive order banning offshore oil drilling.

While congressional action is also needed to end the ban, Bush is again firmly supporting the stance of his party's presumptive nominee, John McCain. McCain has called for ending the ban as part of a strategy to deal with record-high gas prices and to improve energy security, but Democrats have accused him of flip-flopping on the issue.

Democrat Barack Obama's campaign wasted no time repeating its criticism that the idea of offshore drilling is a craven political ploy with no immediate benefit. His

"If offshore drilling would provide short-term relief at the pump or a long-term strategy for energy independence, it would be worthy of our consideration, regardless of the risks," campaign spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement. "But most experts, even within the Bush Administration, concede it would do neither. It would merely prolong the failed energy policies we have seen from Washington for thirty years. Senator Obama believes Americans need real short-term relief, which is why he has proposed a second round of stimulus with energy rebates for working families. And over the long-term, Senator Obama understands that our national security and the survival of the planet demand a real strategy to break our dependence on foreign oil by developing clean, new sources of energy and by vastly improving the energy efficiency of our cars, trucks and our economy. He is ready to lead such a transformation.”

In a brief White House news conference, Bush bashed Democrats in Congress for not moving on offshore drilling, saying their inaction while gas prices continue to hammer Americans is "unacceptable."

Democrats, instead, are calling on Bush to release oil from the country's strategic reserves.

“Oil and gas price records are being set and reset which each passing day. Americans are making incredible sacrifices -- choosing between bills, gas, and food -- right now. John McCain and George Bush’s best answer is offshore drilling that wouldn’t yield a drop of new oil for 10 years. That’s not a solution $4 a gallon gas prices – that’s a distraction advocated by the same big oil companies making record profits that have given Senator McCain over half a million dollars in contributions over the years,” said Jeremy Funk, of Americans United for Change, a pro-Obama group funded by big labor.