Besides Sarah Palin, the phrase "Drill Baby Drill" has done more to unify the Republican Party than presidential nominee John McCain could ever have managed himself. Why has offshore oil drilling assumed such an important role in our energy debate? It's because Republican politicians, despite evidence to the contrary, can't stop talking about how important offshore oil exploration is to our economy and national security interests. Rep. Don Manzullo likened his efforts advocating for the policy to the fight against slavery. Rep. Judy Biggert called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "a dictator" for adjourning Congress before holding an up-and-down vote on the GOP's drilling legislation. The latest comes from Rep. Peter Roskam, who had this to say in an interview with bloggers at Illinois Review:

I think something as pivotal as [offshore oil drilling] is -- the strategic impact for our country, the impact on the world, the impact on the economy -- the speaker should bring the bill to the floor.

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, and Architecture 2030 provides just the image. The graph below demonstrates the amount of oil America could extract per day by raising the drilling moratorium (which Nancy Pelosi now supports as part of a comprehensive plan) compared to our daily energy consumption.  Click for the full-sized version:

No matter how loud Republicans and our nation's foremost energy expert scream about it, drilling offshore will not make a dent in the global oil market. It's a big red herring, and one that shouldn't sway any voters.