McCain Oil Rig Photo-Op Cancelled by Hurricane Irony

Today, presumptive Republican nominee Senator John McCain had to call off his planned press conference on an offshore oil rig because of the massive hurricane affecting the entire gulf region.

McCain, who earlier this week blamed skyrocketing gas prices on Senator Obama - just months after saying the problem was 30 years in the making - has attempted to equate his newly minted position on offshore drilling with lower gas prices.

Unfortunately even President Bush’s own Energy Department admits that more drilling will have no effect on gas prices for nearly a decade.

While the hurricane is the official story for why the event was canceled, there was also speculation that a 420,000-gallon oil spill on the Mississippi River this week may have also factored in to the decision. The spill would be difficult to explain, given McCain’s pronouncements that offshore drilling and transport poses no environmental threat. It is worth noting that McCain has repeatedly said that there was no major oil spills after Hurricane Katrina. The Coast Guard estimates that 7 million gallons of oil were dumped into the Mississippi River and nearby waterways — nearly 17 times the amount of this week’s spill.

Meanwhile, the spill of 419,000 gallons of oil in the Mississippi River highlights the consequences of expanding offshore drilling. Ninty-eight miles of the Mississippi River, the vital economic center of New Orleans, will be closed for days. Local governments are struggling to protect drinking water supplies and will likely be forced to have clean water trucked into the area.

Similarly, scientists link global warming, which is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, to increased flooding, drought and hurricane activity.

At one time John McCain was a leader on the issue of moving us off of fossil fuels and addressing global warming. Given that global warming’s effects are linked to increased intensity of droughts, floods and hurricanes, it is more than ironic that Hurricane Dolly has disrupted his oil rig photo-op.

The hearts of LCV’s members go out to the real victims of Hurricane Dolly in the western gulf.