As the price of gasoline edges toward $4 a gallon, Obama faces a growing chorus to do more on energy, and Romney is pounding him hard on the issue.
“I can cut through the baloney in the task force, and just tell him, ‘Mr. President, open up drilling in the Gulf. Open up drilling in ANWR [Arctic National Wildlife Refuge]. Open up drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf. Drill in North Dakota. Drill in Oklahoma and Texas. Let’s start getting our oil resources,’ ” Romney said.
“And, by the way, let’s also start opening up our natural gas resources instead of having it held up by the EPA, so that can ultimately become a transportation fuel. And by the way, let's take advantage of our coal resources as well. Mr. President, you seem to like electric cars, but you know, they take electricity. That means coal.’
“The president is looking for someone to blame and he ought to look in the mirror. I know he likes alternative energy but I would rather see an alternative president.”
On March 21 and 22, Obama travels to Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Ohio – all electoral battlegrounds except Oklahoma – to highlight what he calls his “all of the above” energy strategy. He calls the Republican plans "gimmicks" and says there are no "silver bullets" to bring down gas prices.
Republicans laugh at Obama's "all of the above" characterization. If he really favored “all of the above” in meeting the nation’s energy needs, he would have approved the Keystone XL pipeline project, they say.
