The Goil From Ipanema

I am not one of those conspiracy theorists who believe that Barack Obama’s energy policies are designed to enrich George Soros, the Left’s prime sugar daddy. It is true, of course, that Soros is a major shareholder in Petrobras, Brazil’s oil company, and Obama has perversely frustrated American oil companies while at the same time hailing, and enabling, identical petroleum development by Petrobras. I don’t chalk that up to conspiracy, but rather to the incoherence of a President who would rather hone his golf game and his NCAA picks than devote serious thought to the duties of his office.
The Institute for Energy Research highlights the absurdity of Obama’s energy policies–absurdity, that is, if you are an American and not a Brazilian:

Now that gas prices are topping $4 per gallon, President Obama is touting the benefits of increased oil exploration and production . . . in Brazil. While his administration works to decrease American energy production, President Obama encouraged Brazilians to become a “new, stable source of energy” for the U.S. In response, Daniel Kish, vice president of policy at the Institute for Energy Research, issued the following statement:
“President Obama’s approach to energy seems to be to ‘spread the wealth around,’ as long as it isn’t here at home or with our strong ally and trusted neighbor, Canada.
“Right now, the president could order that oil production start in Alaska; that all permits be granted in the Gulf of Mexico; that Canada – our trusted ally, number one trading partner and largest supplier of oil – gets the permits they need to spend billions of dollars to build a pipeline across our border; or direct his Interior Secretary to stop holding up oil shale leasing on western lands.
“Instead, he’s handing out loans for, and talking up the virtues of, Brazilian oil discoveries. These are discoveries his own policies are stopping right here in the U.S. The mystery of his approach is why it continues to be so anti-North American when it comes to where we get our oil.”

Obama purports to be concerned about jobs, but energy development is low-hanging fruit. The federal government could enable the creation of tens or hundreds of thousands of high-paying, private sector jobs, just by getting out of the way. That Obama refuses to do so, while promoting job growth in other countries, speaks volumes about his priorities.

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