Republican Rep. John Shimkus was not bashful in his skepticism of the Democratic presidential ticket, which visited his neck of the woods on Saturday. Speaking to the State Journal-Register, he said the partnership of Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden was "destined to fail." Why? Their hesitancy to push offshore oil drilling, of course, which he terms "American-made energy":

“For the liberal Democrats and the leadership team that can lead their ticket, supply is not part of the equation,” he said. “For small-town, rural America — the middle class and the lower middle class — it’s almost an attack on the poor and the middle class.”

I won't belabor the point, but the insinuation that drilling off the cost will lower the price of gasoline for working Americans is completely bunk. So is the idea that Republican leaders support "American-made energy." Let's remember the loads of legislation Shimkus and his colleagues blocked that would have led to large-scale investment in renewable energy.

It's not Obama who is destined to fail -- it's the "drill now, drill forever" strategy Shimkus can't seem to shake. Read our posts here, here, and here to learn more about the GOP's dead-end ideas.