President Obama's Lies Regarding U.S. Dependency On Foreign Oil

The Los Angeles times notes Obama, chart in hand, presses his case on gas prices

As rising gas prices are putting pressure on politicians to act, President Obama called on Congress to vote quickly to eliminate subsidies for the oil industry, returning to a favorite target the president.

Obama repeated his case, outlined in a speech last week, that there is "no silver bullet" to rising gas prices. He highlighted his administration's effort to reduce dependence on foreign oil and boost development of alternative energy.

This week he introduced a new prop to illustrate his point. As Obama spoke, a chart popped up on television screens behind him. The graph showed U.S. dependence on foreign oil falling since 2005 -- from 60% of net imports to 45% in 2011.

The White House handed out copies to the crowd. Obama told them to take it home -- "it makes for a great conversation piece at parties."

"Now, one reason our dependence on foreign oil is down is because of policies put in place by our administration and my predecessor’s administration. And whoever succeeds me will have to keep it up."

Really? No, Not Really?

The Facts show that President Obama is disingenuous at best, and a blatant liar at worst. I lean towards the latter. Reader Tim Wallace provides charts to prove it.

Petroleum Distillates Usage

click on chart for sharper image

That looks pretty good, doesn't it? But what the heck does it have to do with reduction in foreign demand, and more importantly, Obama's role (or lack thereof) in achieving those gains.

For the answer to those most pertinent questions, let's display the usage in terms of foreign demand.

Petroleum Distillates Percentage Usage



Chart Explanations

Reader Tim Wallace writes ...

Hello Mish -

I almost went apoplectic today reading on line that the President is now claiming to have cut our dependency on foreign oil, and that the US has imported less each year of his Presidency.

Foreign oil imports have indeed dropped throughout his Presidency, but as the attached charts show, there is a reason for that drop - a tremendous decline in USA usage overall. This is because of a declining economy, NOT because of "alternate sources" or any of the other lies tossed our way by the government.

Of more interest is the fact that although the amount of foreign oil has declined, it has grown as a percentage of our overall supply.

During the Obama Presidency we have become more dependent on foreign oil, not less!

His entire speech was disingenuous at best.

Tim

There you have it. President Obama absolutely did not cut dependency on foreign oil. In fact, foreign oil dependency rose from roughly 37% to 40% under his administration. To be more precise, foreign petroleum usage in his administration went from 37% to a peak of 41% last year, currently at 39.9%.

The only way Obama can take credit for the decline in consumption caused by the recession, is to take credit for the recession itself.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
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