All that means that the National Republican Senatorial Committee may be the leading contender for best joke of the day. Seriously.

The NRSC came up with a web video that mocks President Obama and his achievements in office thus far. There’s reason to differ with the argument it makes, of course, but for now let’s just appreciate the humor — have to love anything that uses unicorns and rainbows the way this does.

It’s an interesting thought exercise — and Lewis does make some good points — but probably not much more than that. Santorum has a whole lot of baggage. And, more importantly, the economy is likely to remain a major issue come 2012. If it is, someone like Santorum whose identity centers around social, not economic, conservatism is at a real disadvantage.

But Santorum and his advisors have a strategy, Lewis reports:

 

Every campaign needs a narrative — it must tell a story. This one would require creativity. My sources indicate the Santorum camp has settled on a Churchillian narrative. Essentially, it goes like this: Santorum was right all along. He was right about creeping socialism. He was right about the culture. He was right about Islamic fascism. The people didn’t appreciate him. He was a Cassandra. But now he has been vindicated.

Also, everyone’s having sex with dogs. It’s the hot new thing!

Fox says the interview was originally part of an online series also called “Real American Stories,” the Los Angeles Times reports. But it decided to pull the segment anyway, and a spokeswoman said, “[A]s it appears that Mr. Smith does not want to be associated with a program that could serve as an inspiration to others, we are cutting his interview from the special and wish him the best with his fledgling acting career.”

Lest there be any confusion, Fox isn’t really wishing LL ”the best.” That formulation — more often expressed as some variation of “we wish X well” — is a classic line from the network’s P.R. people, unsubtle code meaning, basically, “Oh, and fuck you.” In this case, they made it even more plain than usual with the “fledgling acting career” bit. The rapper may not be a megastar, but he’s had a fair number of movie roles dating back to the early 1990s, and he’s currently a regular cast member on “NCIS: Los Angeles.” 

Others on the right have had a similar take. At Red State Moe Lane headlined a post on the move, “Obama’s drilling bribe is insultingly small.”

The reaction from the left, especially environmental groups, has been similarly predictable. Greenpeace released a statement in which its executive director, Phil Radford, said, “Is this President Obama’s clean energy plan or Palin’s drill baby drill campaign? While China and Germany are winning the clean energy race, this act furthers America’s addiction to oil. Expanding offshore drilling in areas that have been protected for decades threatens our oceans and the coastal communities that depend on them with devastating oil spills, more pollution and climate change.”

Obama and his staff have, for their part, anticipated all of this. During remarks he made Wednesday morning, the president addressed these kinds of critiques, saying, according to prepared remarks released by the White House:

There will be those who strongly disagree with this decision, including those who say we should not open any new areas to drilling. But what I want to emphasize is that this announcement is part of a broader strategy that will move us from an economy that runs on fossil fuels and foreign oil to one that relies more on homegrown fuels and clean energy. And the only way this transition will succeed is if it strengthens our economy in the short term and long term. To fail to recognize this reality would be a mistake.

On the other side, there will be those who argue that we do not go nearly far enough; who suggest we open all of our waters to energy exploration without any restriction or regard for the broader environmental and economic impact. They’d deny the fact that with less than 2 percent of oil reserves, but more than 20 percent of world consumption, drilling alone cannot come close to meeting our long-term energy needs, and that for the sake of the planet and our energy independence, we need to begin the transition to cleaner fuels now.

Ultimately, we need to move beyond the tired debates between right and left, between business leaders and environmentalists, between those who would claim drilling is a cure all and those who would claim it has no place. Because this issue is just too important to allow our progress to languish while we fight the same old battles over and over again.

Update: A couple more reactions, both from senators. First, this statement from Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.:

Drilling off the Virginia coast would endanger many of New Jersey’s beaches and vibrant coastal economies. Giving Big Oil more access to our nation’s waters is really a Kill, Baby, Kill policy: it threatens to kill jobs, kill marine life and kill coastal economies that generate billions of dollars. Offshore drilling isn’t the solution to our energy problems, and I will fight this policy and continue to push for 21st century clean energy solutions.

And, on Twitter, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said, “Drill baby drill! Good move — where are Reid and Pelosi on this?”

Under the administration’s plan, which has not yet been officially announced but which was detailed for reporters from multiple outlets, 167 million acres of the Atlantic coast, from Delaware to Florida, would be opened. So would another roughly 130 million acres in the Arctic Ocean, and areas in the Gulf of Mexico. The Pacific coast would remain closed to drilling, as would environmentally sensitive areas like Bristol Bay in Alaska, where the Bush administration had wanted to allow exploration.

The politics of this could prove difficult for the White House. Republicans should love it, but there will no doubt be complaints about those areas kept closed, and in an election year where the GOP has effectively decided to oppose just about everything the president proposes, there’s going to be some reluctance to embrace this. Democrats — especially those from affected areas — are going to be wary, especially as environmental groups will oppose the move. The fact that this sort of drilling won’t begin to show results for years won’t help on that score.

The administration is already working to remind everyone that this is not a new idea from Obama, who’s long been open to the idea of drilling, even if his vision is more limited than the GOP’s. Among other examples, the president mentioned drilling favorably in his State of the Union address this year.