The pro off-shore drilling crowd sure is naïve. Do they actually believe that gasoline prices will immediately fall if the ban on off-shore drilling is lifted? They apparently do. Consider home page text of www.drillheredrillnow.com:

"As gas prices continue to increase, Congress continues to blame others while ignoring practical steps to stop the pain Americans are feeling at the pump. To lower gasoline prices and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we need real solutions to our energy challenges.

We, therefore, are petitioning the U.S. Congress to act immediately to lower gasoline prices (and diesel and other fuel prices) by authorizing the exploration of proven energy reserves to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable countries."

That quote from Newt Gingrich sounds great during a contentious election year, but is it possible, let alone believable? Once drilling is allowed and I predict it will be, it’ll take a least a decade before the first drop of crude makes its way to a pipeline. It's not like someone can shoot at the ground and out spurts oil.

Second, with only three percent of the world’s proven reserves, a lot of oil needs to pump through U.S. spigots to make an impact on pricing. And, more importantly, oil companies will make us pay just as much for domestic crude as the imported Middle Eastern stuff.

Really. A domestic discount? Don’t bet on it.

While we are in a protracted economic slump (notice I did not say recession) that has dampened oil market speculators, Newt doesn’t seem to realize that a “practical” step has already delivered some recent relief at the pump: conservation. People are using their cars less and that is contributing to less pain at the pump.