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Obama flip flop on oil drilling? Not so fast.

National
By Catharine Richert
March 31, 2010

President Barack Obama announced today that he will open up new coastal areas to oil production. So we put him on the Flip-O-Meter.

We reviewed all the evidence of the 2008 campaign and concluded that he hadn’t changed position, so we rated him No Flip. Surprised? Read the evidence in our full report.

Our Sources

See item for complete sources.

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Catharine Richert
Ed Schultz
Ed Schultz
stated on May 5, 2010 in a broadcast of the Ed Show:
"Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu received almost $1.8 million from BP over the last decade."
Pants on Fire!
By Catharine Richert • May 14, 2010
Mary Landrieu
Mary Landrieu
stated on May 4, 2010 in an interview on CNN:
"In the last 10 years we've only had 7,000 barrels of oil spilled in the Gulf ... not counting hurricanes. This well is spewing that amount every day and a half."
Mostly True
By Catharine Richert • May 13, 2010
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Harry Reid
stated on May 11, 2010 in a speech on the Senate floor:
On Sandra Day O'Connor: "I think one reason she was a good judge is she had no judicial experience" before she joined the Supreme Court.
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By Catharine Richert • May 12, 2010
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J.D. Hayworth
stated on April 28, 2010 in an interview on the Fox Business Network:
"Up until two weeks ago, John McCain was a leading proponent of amnesty. Now with me challenging him, suddenly he has changed."
Pants on Fire!
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Katrina vanden Heuvel
stated on May 2, 2010 in a roundtable discussion on ABC's 'This Week':
"At the moment, energy companies spend 0.25 percent on R&D."
True
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stated on April 21, 2010 in an interview on MSNBC's Daily Rundown:
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stated on April 25, 2010 in a panel discussion on ABC This Week:
 "What the Arizona law does is make a state crime out of something that already is... a federal crime."
Mostly True
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stated on April 25, 2010 in an interview on ABC's This Week:
The Banking Committee voted a 1,336-page bill "out of committee in 21 minutes with no amendments, with the understanding that before the bill came to the floor, we would reach this bipartisan agreement."
Mostly True
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House Natural Resources Committee Republicans
House Natural Resources Committee Republicans
stated on April 5, 2010 in a news release posted on his website.:
"Obama did not open new lands to offshore drilling – all of these areas were already open for drilling once Congress and President Bush lifted the moratorium in 2008. Instead, President Obama yesterday announced what areas he would CLOSE to offshore drilling."
Mostly False
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Paul Ryan
stated on March 31, 2010 in a speech to the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs:
In 2004, "20 percent of U.S. households were getting about 75 percent of their income from the federal government. ... Another 20 percent were receiving almost 40 percent."
Mostly False
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Richard Shelby
stated on March 25, 2010 in a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner:
"The bill reported out of committee sets up a $50 billion slush fund that, while intended for resolving failing firms, is available for virtually any purpose that the treasury secretary sees fit."
False
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Stephen Colbert
stated on April 12, 2010 in an interview on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report":
John Paul Stevens is the only Protestant on the U.S. Supreme Court.
True
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Barack Obama
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On oil drilling
No Flip
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Lindsey Graham
stated on March 24, 2010 in an appearance on the Fox News show "On the Record" with Greta Van Susteren:
"The average student will be spending $1,700 to $1,800 more during the life of their loan because of this surcharge."
False
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stated on March 28, 2010 in a U.S. Senate primary debate on FOX News Sunday:
"The average cost for health insurance in Florida went from about $600 a month for an individual to about $150 a month."
False
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Obama flip flop on oil drilling? Not so fast.

Clear
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