The real kicker in the Bush plan is that it makes no difference to prices now. It will take at least 3-5 years to bring those reserves into production - even if they had test drilled them already, to know exactly where to drill. Oh, and that's conservatively speaking, if you take a look at BP's Crazy Horse operation in the Gulf of Mexico.
the other thing that is completely WRONG-HEADED with more domestic drilling is that the US already has a 17-20% refining capacity shortfall, so even if the ANWR and Continental Shelf were open for business tomorrow, all the extra oil would have to be shipped OUT of the USA to be refined, then IMPORTED back as refined products. None of the Big Oil players is planning a new refinery in the US, although they are building them elsewhere (Exxon and Shell are both building in Singapore).
The net effect of more domestic US oil production would actually be MORE imports, not less, and all the profits from the refining game would be made and untaxed in other countries. Big Oil gets free money.
Also, I can''t help but suspect that this was why we invaded Iraq. Not to get our hands on their oil, but to drive up the price until the US public screams uncle and allows more domestic drilling (or maybe it's just coincidence that Big Oil lubricates the GOP in general and the Bush administration in particular?=/ )
BUT, the thing that irritates me most about Bush demanding this is that he started off as a wild-cat driller and couln't hit oil in Texas. So WFT does he think he knows about where to find oil?!?:mad: