Vitter doesn't waver in support of offshore drilling

The massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico shouldn't influence the nation's future decisions on offshore drilling, a Louisiana lawmaker said Sunday.

The spill and the subsequent problems of stopping mile-deep well's leak haven't diminished Republican Sen. David Vitter's support for offshore drilling, he told Candy Crowley on CNN's "State of the Union." 

"To jump from there to say there should be no domestic offshore drilling and no domestic production of oil and gas I think is a crazy leap, quite frankly," he said. 

Vitter compared giving up drilling to no longer flying after a plane crash. 

"I don't think that is rational," he said. "We need to get our hands around this event, determine exactly what went wrong and we're going to need a lot of new technology and mandates and procedures to make sure it never happens again."

Vitter's comments echoed those of Mississippi Rep. Gene Taylor (D), who also expressed support for offshore drilling in a Saturday interview. 

During today's interview, Vitter also expressed consternation over BP's inability to stop the leaking well.

"I'm done with predicting success," he said. "We've been through so many rounds, everybody here in Louisiana is hoping and praying for success but, quite frankly, all of these failures are enormously frustrating and really maddening."