Oil spill politics - Washington Post (blog)

John Hofmeister has an insider’s view on our nation’s energy travails. In his book “Why We Hate the Oil Companies,” recently released by Palgrave Macmillan, the former president of Shell Oil lays out his concerns. He dresses down energy companies for actions that have ensured a negative public image – so negative that any steps they take to find new energy sources or make energy cleaner or more efficient are met by skepticism. He also chastises the government for years of failed policymaking. Here, Hofmeister, now board chairman of the National Urban League and founder of the non-profit Citizens for Affordable Energy, assesses the politics of the Gulf oil spill.

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By rewarding blue state anti-drilling activists with the deepwater drilling moratorium in reaction to his powerlessness over the Gulf oil spill five weeks into the tragic event, President Obama deepened the alienation of red state drilling enthusiasts. He also incentivized an antagonistic industry to undermine his leadership by appealing to the courts and eventually the people. The courts know when an action is “arbitrary and capricious” and have so ruled. Millions of Americans who every day will buy much higher priced gas in 2012 will hear the oil industry lament its loss of domestic access and production. They will be reminded in an election year what the president did to drive up the price of gas.

Oil spill politics - Washington Post (blog)