Political Quotes

“Madam President, we have all heard the phrase ``drill, baby, drill.'' Well, it is interesting that the pro-oil company folks think that all of our answers have to do with drilling because, lo and behold, we have actually increased our domestic production. Let me quote from a Reuters story from May 25: Crude oil production, especially in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, increased by 334,000 barrels per day between 2005 and 2010, which also cut into foreign oil purchases. As a matter of fact, the article goes on to say: Imports of crude and petroleum products accounted for 49.3 percent of the U.S. oil demand last year, down from the high of 60.3 percent in 2005. It also marked the first time since 1997 that America's foreign oil addiction fell under the 50 percent threshold. Now, that is worth noting. That is really something because the trend is reversing. Maybe it is that we are getting more energy conscious. Maybe it is that we are expending less gasoline in our vehicles because of the higher miles-per-gallon standards. Maybe we are remembering to turn off the lights when we leave the room. Maybe we are being a lot more sensitive to how vulnerable we are because we depend--as we have in the past--on upwards of 60 to 70 percent of our daily consumption from foreign shores, places such as Nigeria and the Persian Gulf and Venezuela. Now, I have just named three very unstable parts of the world that could, at any moment, cut off that production.…”