The Obama administration announced today that the Department of Interior will hold a consolidated lease sale for the Central Gulf of Mexico region, thus concluding the lease sales scheduled in 2007 and required by law. The timing of the announcement and the high profile the administration is giving it appears designed to make the American public think that President Obama is fulfilling his State of the Union pledge to “open up more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil and gas resources.” The facts, however, tell a different story. Consider the following: