Via the New York Times, Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) is using some slick spin to exaggerate the probable effect of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in a statement supporting President Bush’s decision to lift an executive ban on offshore oil drilling:

If we had started exploring ANWR 10 years ago when President Clinton vetoed it, and coupled it with a comprehensive energy plan, we wouldn’t be in this predicament today. But now the chickens have come home to roost. We can afford to wait no longer.

Even if ANWR were fully online today, however, it would only support a small percentage of US oil consumption, which means it would have a negligible effect on the price of oil in global markets. The way Voinovich gets around this inconvenient fact is by adding that if we had “coupled [opening ANWR] with a comprehensive energy plan, we wouldn’t be in this predicament today.” But that’s like saying “If I had saved $10 more in the fifth grade, and also invested all of my savings in Google stock, I’d be a millionaire today.”