I have a reasonably good understanding of energy policy, or the lack thereof. Also I have a similar understanding of congressional/presidential politics after having written a master's thesis on the subject which you can read in chapter 3 of this book right here. Nonetheless, it's not like it takes any real understanding of political theory to figure out what's going on with the president's decision to open the offshore to drilling. It's called positioning.
Knowing it will take years to see the benefit from offshore drilling, yet it still being the quickest method to get more oil into the markets-- though maybe not the most economical-- the president has taken the opposition's trump card of drill baby drill off the table. It could be for a number of reasons too. Maybe for a deal on a climate bill. But probably more for maneuvering for an energy policy. But one thing the president is not doing is he is not doing this to get Republican votes. He hasn't needed Republican votes for anything. Nor is his inner circle naive enough to think Republicans will magically come around this time. That's probably not going to happen.
What has happened is Republicans have their drilling. I for one am glad they do. Now it's time for substance and for planning for the future. Unfortunately, removing one GOP catch phrase from the debate will only result in them coming up with something more galling like 'Obama is going to use the new oil to help sponsor his terrorist pals.' That's the world we live and the mental capacity of the minority party. But this move by the president is a classic case of positioning himself for the upcoming debate.
