I'm an accidental oracle.
It's never praiseworthy to sing one's own praises, but this morning I can't help humming a few bars.
A week ago, I stumbled upon a gusher that's now producing barrels of black ink in the presidential campaign.
What started out as a little dig at North County's political elite turned into a dumb-lucky harbinger of the energy story of the week.
As you may recall, the June 16 column was devoted to the fascination of North County pols for oil exploration off our shores.
The pro-drill, anti-seal-hugger analysis – delivered by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, state Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Temecula, and North County Supervisor Bill Horn – was robustly received by members of the San Diego North Economic Development Council at a meeting June 13.
This SUV-saving solution to the nation's gas woes struck me as a way to throw some energy into underdog John McCain's candidacy.
“Among North County's political leaders,” I wrote, “the answer to the prospect of $5-a-gallon gas is so simple and painless, it's a wonder McCain, the veteran, doesn't showcase it to burn young Obama.”
By midday Monday, several hours after my column appeared, I was stunned by press bulletins.
In short order, syndicated news stories reported that McCain was reversing his long-standing opposition to offshore drilling.
Americans are so upset by rising gas prices that states with oil deposits should be willing to lift the age-old moratoriums, he said.
Shortly after McCain's dramatic flip, President Bush was coming on strong, pressing for full-court drilling.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a possible McCain running mate, changed course and touched the Sunshine State's longtime “third rail” by supporting offshore drilling.
Though California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger scoffed at the outbreak of drilling fever, McCain had found a new well of energy.
Over the weekend, before last week's column ran, an editor called to verify that McCain opposed offshore drilling.
I can tell you this, I said, drilling has never been a McCain talking point. You can take that to the bank.
By midday Monday, the bank had been robbed at gunpoint.
That's not to say the column was a universal hit.
Paul Evans, Rancho Peñasquitos resident and self-described “proud caveman,” scolded me for “sly, condescending remarks” about the North County drill team.
“We do not need condescension,” Evans wrote. “We need to rein in the SUVs and giant trucks. We all need to drive a Prius, conserve, etc. We need windmills, solar, coal, nuclear and shale. We need it all.
“What we especially need is an energy policy that produces energy independence. . . . We need a Manhattan Project.”
“We are not all dinosaurs with our heads in the sand,” gently chided Stephen Lord, whose Encinitas engineering firm specializes in energy.
“As Obama would say, it is time for a change, and the policy to change right now is the offshore oil-drilling moratorium. We can use that 'free' oil and money to balance the budget and build for a renewable future. It just takes long-term thinking and a road map.”
Lord foresees offshore leases that require rigs to convert to harness wind and wave energy after the oil is pumped dry.
Yes, he concedes, it could be 10 years before rigs come online, but selling the lucrative rights would bring in revenue. What's more, the price of oil and gas would drop as speculators realized that larger domestic supplies were realistically on tap.
Well, put like that, I could be persuaded.
It might be tempting for Obama to dismiss McCain's awakening as a pipeline dream, but he'd be foolish, if not “condescending,” to do so.
It's easy to oversell the benefits of new drilling, but it's hard to overestimate the danger of putting the American dollar in hock to buy oil in a global bubble.
Still, the cavemen, no matter how hot the issue, must keep their cool.
Last week, the usually urbane Issa was pilloried in the liberal blogosphere for taking the occasion of a resolution honoring NBC newsman Tim Russert to say the following:
“We are going to miss Tim Russert when it comes to the people on both sides of the issue of why we have $5 gasoline and $135 oil. I think Tim Russert would have been just the right guy to hold people accountable, who would talk about the 68 million acres that are, quote, inactive, while in fact 41 million (acres) are under current lease and use and are producing millions of barrels of oil and natural gas a day.
“So, Madam Speaker, I am going to miss Tim Russert because this debate is too important not to have a fact-oriented, unbiased moderator who could in fact bring to bear the truth that we need to have.”
In hours, Issa turned into the left's Most Abominable Man on YouTube (and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann's “Worst Person in the World”).
Issa's timing was awful, but I guess these things happen when a threatened party begins to gush.
Logan Jenkins: (760) 737-7555; logan.jenkins@uniontrib.com.
