Obama Makes Good Decisions Way Too Late to Help Himself

After nearly three years of stalling and undermining three important free trade agreements, the Lightworker has sent them to Congress. IBD rightly praises this move:

After years of dithering and bowing to protectionists, President Obama finally submitted three pending free-trade pacts with South Korea, Panama and Colombia to Congress for a vote. Let the U.S. economy recover.

The president's decision marks the first bright economic move he has made to boost the nation's ailing economy. Dropping tariffs, opening markets and equalizing investment terms are a proven way to boost economic growth.

Contrary to all the nonsense about outsourcing and giant sucking sounds, the real impact of free trade is new freedom and opportunity.

The pacts are now on their way to a vote in Congress after a long delay, marking Obama's first real shift from campaign demagogue captive to special interests to President of the entire U.S.

In a lesser covered move, the administration is moving forward with leases and permits for oil exploration in the Chukchi Sea off of Alaska.

The Obama administration announced Monday it was moving forward with oil-drilling leases issued off the coast of Alaska by the previous administration, marking an important development in the battle over Arctic Ocean drilling.

The Interior Department said it was going to uphold nearly 500 leases issued in the Chukchi Sea after several environmental groups challenged the sale of the leases in court. The George W. Bush administration conducted the sale in 2008, collecting bids worth about $2.7 billion.

Among the companies securing leases in "Lease Sale 193" was Shell, the energy giant at the center of a high-profile fight to secure permits to drill in the Arctic.

Environmental groups oppose the Chukchi Sea leases, contending U.S. regulators don't know enough about the Arctic--its marine life and ecosystem--to allow drilling in the region. The groups also raise concerns about the ability of energy companies to respond to spills in the Arctic's icy waters.

I guess the guy really does want to get reelected and seems to now be doing things that actually promote economic growth and jobs. I'm afraid all of this is too little too late. We won't see the tangible benefits of these moves for awhile, and it's not like he can rally his base with this stuff.

"The Obama administration said it would make decisions in the Arctic based on sound science, but today it flunked the test," Earthjustice attorney Erik Grafe said.