Welcome back, Carter; Landrieu presses Interior on drilling permatorium

Over at Hot Air, Ed Morrissey tells us, via Steve Forbes, that President Obama is as bad as Jimmy Carter when it comes to energy policy. To be fair to Carter, Obama still has two years to reach a new low.

Part of Obama's foolhardy and expensive energy policy is the "permatorium" on new oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico.

But not all Democrats are on the failure bandwagon, such as Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, who confronted Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar at the capitol today.

From the Daily Caller:

During Wednesday’s hearing, the senator asked Salazar point-blank how he planned to begin issuing more drilling permits, criticized him for creating uncertainty in the oil industry and scolded him on his agency’s message after the first permit was issued earlier this week.

Landrieu showed clear frustration with questions like: "What are you specifically doing to get these permits increased so people can get back to work?"

And: "Eighteen deep-water permits have been applied for … and you have issued one. And the industry is saying, 'They're returning them to us because we are not sure of the requirements they are requesting of us.'"

"What I [am] hearing from the industry is uncertainty," she said. "In January 2009 there were 16 permits issued. The next year there were 12 and this January, only two. We're so far off the historic level. We've got to get it back up as quickly as possible."

Yes, senator, we've got to get it back up as quickly as possible.

Regular gasoline is going for $3.69 a gallon where I live.

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