McCain gave a “blunderful” speech about energy independence on an oil rig this week, calling for more offshore drilling as the solution to lowering the price of food, gas, heat, and other energy-cost effected commodities. My favorite part is when he tells one of the rig workers he has no idea how to use a computer. I couldn’t get a job at Carl’s Jr. if I admitted that. Seriously, can someone please make this a requirement for the “Leader of the Free World” position? The internet is not a series of tubes!

Strangely enough, here’s McCain’s position on offshore drilling and oil, which he expressed at a townhall meeting in Greensdale, Wisconsin as little as three months ago:

“[W]ith those resources, which would take years to develop, you would only postpone or temporarily relieve our dependency on fossil fuels,” McCain said when asked about offshore drilling. “We are going to have to go to alternative energy, and the exploitation of existing reserves of oil, natural gas, even coal, and we can develop clean coal technology, are all great things. But we also have to devote our efforts, in my view, to alternative energy sources, which is the ultimate answer to our long-term energy needs, and we need it sooner rather than later.”

Additionally, his aggressive push for offshore drilling as a solution to the current energy crisis is at odds with a study that was recently completed by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) which suggests that access to Pacific, Atlantic and eastern Gulf regions would not have an impact on domestic crude oil prices before the year 2030. So much for $2 gas in 2009. Here’s more on McCain’s position on offshore drilling from the HuffPo.

takepart and find out more about the environmental consequences of offshore drilling here.

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