Yet another Brazilian export we can't seem to resist

So, if drilling off-shore of the continental United States is a nettlesome political, judicial and environmental issue… no problem – hit the road and let someone else get crude under their finger nails.

The U.S. Export-Import Bank tells us it has issued a "preliminary commitment" letter to Petrobras in the amount of $2 billion and has discussed with Brazil the possibility of increasing that amount. Ex-Im Bank says it has not decided whether the money will come in the form of a direct loan or loan guarantees. Either way, this corporate foreign aid may strike some readers as odd, given that the U.S. Treasury seems desperate for cash and Petrobras is one of the largest corporations in the Americas.

We posted on the huge Brazilian oil fields here over a year ago and how Brazil's energy policy differed from ours but if you are wondering what we are doing in our cash-strapped state, lending $2 billion to a country that appears to be well-capitalized to take on off-shore drilling endeavors, then join the club.

And this action is borderline bizarre considering its not the supposed oil baron himself, George W. Bush that is slinking off to Rio to sow his wild petrol oats but rather Mr. Clean who has made it a habit of beating up on Big Oil and who has pushed for cap and trade legislation to curb our carbon-emitting ways.

So, is there more to this than meets the eye? There just may be and it is every bit as sordid as you can imagine.

We'll be standing by for the howls of indignation from the Left. Over here... Any minute now...

H/T: Hot Air