INTERESTING WALL STEET ARTICLE - Obama Is Likely to Use Executive Power To Halt Drilling

NOVEMBER 10, 2008 Obama Is Likely to Use Executive Power To Halt Drilling, Fund Stem-Cell Work
By JONATHAN WEISMANArticle
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more in Politics »President-elect Barack Obama will likely use his executive powers after taking office to block new drilling leases on environmentally sensitive land in Utah and to allow federal funding of stem-cell research, putting a quick mark on policy making.


Barack Obama
"There's a lot the president can do using his executive authority without waiting for congressional action," John Podesta, head of Mr. Obama's transition team, said on "Fox News Sunday."

Mr. Podesta said Mr. Obama is "a transformational figure" and that the support he received among voters in some Republican states and conservative counties gives him a mandate to pursue his agenda aggressively.

Rolling back executive orders issued by the Bush administration could give Mr. Obama a fast way to put his mark on policy making after he takes office, as past presidents have. Other Bush-era executive orders that Mr. Obama could reverse include a ban on federal aid to family-planning organizations that counsel women on abortion, and a decision in December that restricts California in regulating greenhouse-gas emissions from cars.

The Bush administration has been rushing to implement regulations before Mr. Obama takes office. Unlike with executive orders, some of these would take longer for Mr. Obama and the Democrats to roll back.

One Bush-era measure Mr. Obama is likely to address quickly are the new oil and gas leases approved recently by the Department of Interior that would open up for drilling land near Arches and Canyonlands national parks in southern Utah's desert. Environmentalists said drilling in the area could potentially damage the parks and surrounding land.

Mr. Obama could also lift restrictions placed by President George W. Bush on the type of stem-cell research that can be funded with federal dollars. Democratic congressional leaders have vowed to push a twice-vetoed stem-cell research bill as one of the first acts of the next Congress.


Rahm Emanuel
Mr. Podesta and other top Obama aides fanned out on the Sunday news talk shows, suggesting that after Tuesday's electoral sweep, the incoming administration would begin to try to influence policy making before January's inauguration.

Speaking on the Sunday shows, Mr. Podesta, incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and transition Co-Chair Valerie Jarrett touched upon the detailed preparations the Obama team has made to pave the way for a smooth transition to the presidency. Mr. Podesta said his team has been working since early August, with transition leaders meeting frequently with officials in the Bush White House. About 100 Obama aides received security clearance before the election, so they could begin accessing national-security information immediately after Mr. Obama won.

Mr. Emanuel said the president-elect would be moving forward with his entire agenda as soon as he is sworn in. That agenda includes achieving universal health care, increasing education funding, implementing middle-class tax cuts and moving the country toward energy independence.

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Political Perceptions: A Realignment or Stars in Alignment?The first priority will be implementing an economic stimulus plan that includes tax rebates for the middle class and funding for infrastructure and school construction, Mr. Emanuel said. Then the new administration would regroup and push what he called the president-elect's four "reforms": education, health care, energy and taxes.

By putting those agenda items under the rubric of reform, Mr. Emanuel might make them more politically palatable. But any changes could also be implemented more gradually, as the Obama administration would pursue them as broader policy goals rather than specific legislation.

Mr. Emanuel, appearing on ABC's "This Week," didn't comment directly on whether Mr. Obama would back calls from senior Democratic lawmakers for Mr. Bush to allow ailing U.S. auto makers to tap a $700 billion fund set up to help the financial industry. But senior Obama economic advisers clarified that the president-elect supports the Democratic lawmakers' proposal to review the legality of making the funds available to the auto makers.

Ms. Jarrett, appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," dismissed criticism from some Republicans that the appointment of Mr. Emanuel, a brash, Democratic street fighter who had served for years in the U.S. House, marked a break from Mr. Obama's pledge to move beyond partisan battles in Washington. Joking that Mr. Emanuel will become kinder and gentler, Ms. Jarrett said: "That's part of the change we've been talking about."

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Might be worth it to give them the drilling rights for a couple of years to pay down the money we borrowed from them. But would they be willing to do it according to our regulations?
Tainted Milk -- Lead Paint on our kids toys - Rampant Copyright Infringments

I am fairly sure China will not follow our rules
Not a chance! They already have us HBNP ( Held By Not Paying )
Why would they go by our rules when they can just wait a little while longer and then do whatever they want too . We will never be out from under the debt we owe them.We will just get every thing explored and producing then they will start spending some of that huge surplus they have and gobble us up.
They certainly have the funds and foreign friends to get it done. There will be plenty of Non foreigners working for them before this is all said and done.
I know, I don't think they can even make decent cement. But if we let them lease the rights to drill baby drill to pay off the debt, the tax coffers could instead help our conversion to CNG.
With all due repect Mr. Krow, if they own us, they can write whatever MMS rules they want to. If the smaller companies are in danger of takeover, how much more danger is there that foreign companies will be the ones doing the takeovers. As big as EXMO is , they are in 14th place I believe worldwide.
the next four years are going to destroy our economy and make it a prime target for countries outside of the us to take advantage.
Actually the precarious situation that our economy is in now is due to the current administration, senate and congress.
That's very unlikely. But, I hope you are right.

Even when I know in my heart that you aren't.
We're already their prime target. That's why we needed someone strong as POTUS. What we have now as pres-elect is a person sympathetic to Muslim terrorists who, I believe, will look for opportunities to deliver our country into the hands of her enemies.
I don't believe he would look for opportunities...

However, I don't think he will be looking for ways to prevent future attacks.
Dr. David Goodstein had written a book "Out Of Gas: The End Of The Age Of Oil". Much of what he had wrote, is parallel to Obama's plan. After writing the book, he held several public presentations of the book. If you search Youtube, you can listed to one of those presentations.

If you elect to search Youtube for the video(s), might I suggest also take the time to search for an early presentation made by M King Hubbert. His early predictions have been accurate to date, and gives some insight as to where our future may be heading.

Also, the EIA is scheduled to release a "peak oil" report today. That report would also be a good insight to our future. With the release of that report, coupled with the OPEC meeting scheduled for next month, we could be staged for an economical impact that would cripple us even more than we presently are.

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