The Offshore Snake Oil Bonanza

Republicans are tapping into a gusher of voter gullibility. According to the Rasmussen Reports, almost two-thirds of Americans approve of offshore drilling and believe that finding new sources of oil is more important than reducing the amount of energy they now use.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is waving the white flag by telling Larry King she might vote for drilling as part of a larger energy package, even as she proclaims, "I will not subscribe to a hoax on the American people that if you drill offshore, you're going to bring down the price at the pump. Even the president says that's not true."

The case for an easy fix is so compelling that the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund is taking out full-page newspaper ads to decry offshore drilling as "George W. Bush's Gasoline Price Elixir" that is "100% Snake Oil" and urge letters to Congress saying, "I am not buying the lie...that sacrificing the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and America's coastal waters to oil drilling would make a real difference in gas prices--either today or twenty years from today!"

The Washington Post editorial page, ever faithful to the Bush Administration, starts out to debunk the ad but ends up agreeing that "the United States cannot drill its way to energy independence."

Offshore oil won't bring down prices at the pump (the current drop is showing that only lower demand can do that) but, as long as there are November votes buried in the issue, McCain and Congressional Republicans will keep hammering away.

McCain's Surge in the Polls

Suddenly public opinion results show John McCain leading Barack Obama as well as Hillary Clinton, and they recall the numbers of a year ago when Rudy Giuliani was beating every Republican in sight and Clinton was on her way to a coronation on the Democratic side.

In this long, long pre-election season, the pollsters and pundits should try harder to distinguish between near-term sentiment and electoral viability. Last year's wide Giuliani and Clinton leads turned out to be more about name recognition and TV-like familiarity ratings than serious thought about who would make the best president.

Isn't the current McCain bounce more about the fallout from the Obama-Clinton mud-fighting than about a sudden desire on the part of voters to see McCain in the White House? Have they fallen in love with him or are they just irritated by super-delegates, Michigan, Florida and other Democratic follies? Do these figures mean anything more than last year's did?

The polls we might want to pay attention to now are those that show Americans unhappier about the economy, the war and politicians of both parties than at any time in memory. In November, they will be deciding who has the best answers for their fears and doubts.

Meanwhile, the candidates are making pitches on "American Idol." Fascinating but, as Dick Cheney might say, so?

Here Comes Huckabee...

Last week's news is translating into this week's poll numbers.

A new national Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll today shows Mike Huckabee threatening the national lead of Rudy Giuliani, who is apparently being damaged in voters' eyes by the montage of scandals building up around his campaign.

Nationally, Guiliani's lead has shrunk from 32-7 percent in October to only 23-17 now. Meanwhile, Huckabee seems to be solidifying his lead in Iowa where 60 Iowa pastors, some of them former backers of Sam Brownback, have endorsed the ex-Governor of Arkansas.

Huckabee leads Giuliani 20-18 percent when Republicans are asked which candidate says what he believes rather than what voters want to hear. Fifty-two percent say Giuliani's pro-abortion stance doesn't bother them, and 73 percent are untroubled by Romney's Mormon faith, an issue he will address in a speech tomorrow night.

As the primaries get closer, so does the race for the Republican nomination.