NO, BARACK, YOU DONT' HAVE ABSOLUTE POWER – AT 7:32 P.M. ET:  A federal judge in Bobby Jindal's New Orleans has struck down the temporary ban on deepwater drilling imposed by the Obama administration, in a victory for common sense.  From Fox:

In a victory for drilling proponents, a federal judge struck down President Obama's six-month moratorium on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, saying the administration rashly concluded that because one rig failed, the others are in immediate danger, too.

The White House promised an immediate appeal. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the president believes strongly that drilling at such depths does not make sense and puts the safety of workers "at a danger that the president does not believe we can afford."

The Interior Department had halted approval of any new permits for deepwater drilling and suspended drilling of 33 exploratory wells in the Gulf.

Several companies that ferry people and supplies and provide other services to offshore drilling rigs asked U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans to overturn the moratorium.

They argued it was arbitrarily imposed after the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that killed 11 workers and blew out the well 5,000 feet underwater. It has spewed anywhere from 67 million to 127 million gallons of oil into the Gulf.

COMMENT:  Feldman is correct.  The moratorium is grandstanding.  There also does not seem to be any scientific or engineering basis to it.  We await the administration's appeal.

June 22, 2010