Nearly two-thirds of Americans support offshore drilling, if a new Rasmussen poll can be believed (and considering the phrasing of past polls, that’s arguable). The recent survey shows 64 of Americans in support of drilling offshore and 20 percent against it. John McCain was originally opposed to offshore drilling but embraced it in June; Barack Obama opposes it but said recently that he’d consider it within a larger package including alternative-energy incentives. Forty-two percent of Rasmussen poll-takers said that allowing drilling offshore would have the biggest impact on energy prices, while 16 percent chose new nuclear plants, 16 percent chose government funding for fuel-efficiency R&D, and 11 percent chose tax credits for hybrids. A different Rasmussen survey indicated that 61 percent of voters, including 48 percent of Democrats, think the recessed Congress should immediately reconvene for a vote on offshore drilling, as Republicans have been demanding. Recent surveys have also indicated that voters believe McCain’s priority is finding new sources of energy while Obama’s priority is reducing energy consumption — and that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe finding new energy sources is more important than cutting energy use.
