Lost in the debate about drilling is a simple truth: blaming oil companies and/or politicians that cater for them (including by supporting more drilling) is, at best, an exercize in finding scapegoats for our own unsustainable behavior.
Oil companies, and drilling politicians are providing exactly what we ask of them: cheap, plentiful oil now, no questions asked.
Even kossacks are unwilling to drop either "cheap", "plentiful", or "oil", as demonstrated many times in the diaries where I proposed to increase gas taxes. So it's no surprise that drilling resonates so much: it seems to provide an easy way to continue with cheap plentiful oil. And even people who know it's an illusion seem to cling to the outside hope that it might actually work.
Until recently, it was possible to make a political career without fear of retribution from reality. Pandering to our addiction to cheap plentiful oil, no questions asked, made a lot of sense. ExxonMobil is our faithful servant in that endeavor, duly delivering the goods, and supporting them was a political no-brainer.
Now, there is suddenly an outside chance, as prices keep on increasing (and yes they will), that people realise that "cheap, plentiful oil, no questions asked" is no longer a reality. Who will they listen to, then? Those who told them what they wanted to hear, or those who disagreed before they agreed? And what if the choice were between those who lied to them and those who told the truth?
And if politicians (even Democrats) are not expected to tell the hard truth to us, why would ExxonMobil do it? Sp let's stop being surprised about the success of "drill, drill, drill" and let's stop blaming BigOil: the problem is us, not the faithful servants who indulge our fantaisies.