Obama approves off-shore drilling…

…but only off the East Coast, not the West Coast or Alaska. I wonder why? What’s the reasoning behind that?

Plus, we can’t really be sure it’s ever going to happen:

…the Interior Department will spend several years conducting geologic and environmental studies along the rest of the southern and central Atlantic Seaboard. If a tract is deemed suitable for development, it is listed for sale in a competitive bidding system. The next lease sales — if any are authorized by the Interior Department — would not be held before 2012.

We’ll see if they’re really serious, I suppose, after the next presidential election. Or not.

Regardless, even with all the restrictions and the maybes, this is a good thing. Remember this graph:

When President Bush started talking about more drilling, gas prices plummeted. But then President Obama got elected before we could follow up.

Now President Obama’s talking about more drilling. Break out the Hummers and let the sweet crude flow!

More: from Michelle Malkin, he was against it before he was for it. She’s got video:

The money starts around the 1:20 mark. He actually hits at McCain for changing his position on offshore drilling!

To be fair, Obama was against middle class tax increases before he was for them, too. He was against individual health insurance mandates before he was for them. He was against increasing U.S. war efforts before he was for it.

He’s just trying to be consistent, I figure.

Via Memeorandum.