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**Written by Doug Powers

One of President Obama’s 2012 slogans should be “Drill, maybe, drill.” Obama knows that merely a call for drilling isn’t actually drilling, so publicly he can sound as drill-happy as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood (as he did early last year and is starting to again). As long as the EPA is there to block or revoke permits, Obama can, with a wink and a nudge, keep the “green” in his corner:

President Barack Obama, under pressure over high gasoline prices, Saturday committed to annual oil and gas lease sales in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve and to speeding up production in other areas.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, the US leader admitted that one of the biggest burdens for US consumers in recent months had been the high price of gasoline — which is more than four dollars a gallon in some areas.

“These spikes in gas prices are often temporary, and while there are no quick fixes to the problem, there are a few steps we should take that make good sense,” Obama said.

The president vowed to increase safe and responsible oil production from US resources, at the same time as enhancing safety and environmental standards.

“To do this, I am directing the Department of Interior to conduct annual lease sales in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, while respecting sensitive areas,” Obama said.

The call for new drilling is part of “Operation: How many times can we get Big Oil to invest billions on research and permits before yanking the rug out from under them over undeclared greenhouse gas emissions?”

**Written by Doug Powers

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