And the machine rolls on

True, but this is something being brought up within the Senate, not a Presidential candidate making promises on the delusion that the legislative branch will agree with whatever (s)he proposes. If it were to pass, I could see Obama signing off on it, as well. McCain, as you pointed out, would veto it provided he keeps his word.

Definitely Alaska.
Which doesn't make sense because building the infrastructure to produce oil is one of the most expensive parts of production. One reason Mexico's petrol resources remain untapped is because of the debt they would have to accumulate to just build the structure to get to and transport, not even refine, oil.

What a lot of our politicians miss is that there are alternatives to oil, the most unpopular being, everyone cut back and the government give everyone incentive to change... such as, giving drivers & corporations, credits to convert to NGV or other alternative fuels/transportation methods. Providing those who use oil for heat with credits to add photovoltaic tile, solar heating, tankless water heaters, better insulation, switch to energy efficient appliance... there are so many ways to reduce consumption. Perhaps any are better options than attempting to find a way to further rely on a finite resource.

Well, if they're missing anything in that regard, it's awareness of the money needed to tap into these resources, since part of the plan is to use the extra money from domestic oil to fund the advent of a permanent and widely available alternative.

I doubt there would be any extra money.
However, at this moment there are readily available alternative energy resources that could permanently supplant oil as a fuel.

People and corporations just need the impetus to implement changes.

And the means to make them affordable to everyone.

Exactly. There has to be incentive.
But beyond that, there has to be a change in the attitude of excess and entitlement that many in the U.S. have. There is no reason why the U.S. should be re-experiencing what happened in the late 70s , more importantly, there is no excuse to approach the issue with the same 1970s answers.

We have alternatives. Indeed, we have had alternatives, there were more alternative vehicles produced in the late 1990s, including American manufacturers, than now (EV1, Ford fleet alternative vehcles, gmc alternatives). Help people who are feeling the crunch dust off their solar panels, convert their car to NGV, propane, electricity, w/e... build mass public transportation systems in major metropolitan areas, and teach people that they can easily reduce their consumption with a few changes.