U.S. Rep. Jon Porter has a new ad up, which you can see at his campaign’s website. But we’ve got a little problem with it. In the script, Porter says he supports more drilling for oil in America “…to give us some relief at the pump today.” How can this be, given that experts say it would take years for oil to be located, pumped out of the ground, refined, and sent to service stations?

The only way more drilling can help out with prices at the pump today is if Porter’s talking about calming the fears of oil speculators, who may react to news of more drilling by allowing prices to fall, knowing there will be a more plentiful supply in a few years. But could the congressman really be saying that we need to drill — even in sensitive environmental areas — so oil speculators can have peace of mind? So we can rescue them from their … what’s the word? … mental recession? If so, that’s not such a good message.

You know what would help out prices at the pump today? Releasing oil from our strategic petroleum reserve. You know how we know that’s true? Because it happened before. We’re just saying.

At least Porter avoided the Republican convention spectacle of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani — pictured here sailing off New York harbor — leading the crowd in a chant of “drill, baby, drill.” That might have been bad!