The current, popular narrative here at DailyKos seems to be that President Obama is weak and "capitulates" to Republicans more often than any of us can say capitulate between breakfast and lunch.
Yet evidence of the Administration moving the progressive agenda forward with executive powers, when it is not dependent on the dysfunctional Senate rules, continually seems to get swept under the rug.
Evidence like this:
Obama Administration: No Offshore Drilling In Eastern Gulf Of Mexico For Seven Years Because Of BP Oil Spill
BRENDAN FARRINGTON | 12/ 1/10 12:06 PM | AP
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Obama administration will maintain a long-standing oil drilling ban in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida after considering loosening it before the BP spill, a senior administration official told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The Big Oil shilling, "Drill Baby Drill!" chanting Republicans won't like this at all, but the Obama Admin has learned from its previous error in judgement and is doing the right thing here.
Not only is the Obama Admin doing the right thing here, it is also a move that should help out Florida Dems:
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., who represents the Tampa area, also praised the decision.
"The White House obviously learned lessons from the BP oil disaster. Drilling for oil off of Florida's coast poses a threat to Florida's economy, jobs and environment. Our small businesses and hotel owners are still suffering from the devastation left behind by the BP blowout," she said in a press release. "Even before the BP disaster, I stressed to the administration that oil drilling off the west coast of Florida simply is not worth the risk."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
And the best part about this is that the Obama Administration has already fast-tracked solar power and is now following up by fast-tracking offshore wind power, thus providing a clean energy alternative to offshore oil drilling:
U.S. Government Puts Offshore Wind on Fast Track
The regulatory shift could shorten the wait time for permitting wind farms by three years or more
By Christa Marshall and Climatewire November 24, 2010 17
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar tried to give an adrenaline shot to the U.S. offshore wind industry yesterday by speeding up the process for developers to obtain leases from the federal government.
The regulatory shift could shorten the wait time for permitting wind farms by three years or more, analysts said. There are currently no offshore projects in the United States, but Salazar said he hoped to issue a new round of leases of the outer continental shelf as early as next year.
snip
"Ocean wind power is the good witch to the bad witch of ocean oil drilling. We are pleased that the government is welcoming the good witch to our shores," said Andrew Sharpless, CEO of Oceana.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/...
This, in its entirety, is a huge shift from the previous Republican policies and is change I can believe in. And it's brilliant energy policy, to boot.
I'm all for constructively critiqueing bad policy from the Obama Administration, but we also need to give credit where credit is due, and there's definitely alot of credit due in this case.