Obama Attacks McCain on Energy

Barack Obama is increasing his criticism of John McCain's energy accomplishments, or lack thereof. In a speech Obama is scheduled to give today, he specifically undermines McCain's claim of being a "maverick" on issues like the environment and energy. He also highlights the political nature of McCain's plans. Below are a couple highlights I picked out from the speech...

• For decades, John McCain has been a part of this failure in Washington. Yes, he has gone further than some in his party in speaking out on climate change. And that is commendable. But time and time again, he has opposed investing in the alternative sources of energy that have helped fuel some of the very same projects and businesses he's highlighting in this campaign.

• After all those years in Washington, John McCain still doesn't get it. I commend him for his desire to accelerate the search for a battery that can power the cars of the future. I've been talking about this myself for the last few years. But I don't think a $300 million prize is enough. When John F. Kennedy decided that we were going to put a man on the moon, he didn't put a bounty out for some rocket scientist to win - he put the full resources of the United States government behind the project and called on the ingenuity and innovation of the American people.

• He wants to open our coastlines to drilling - a proposal that his own top economic adviser admitted won't provide any short-term relief at the pump. It's a proposal that George Bush's Administration says will not provide a drop of oil - not a single drop - for at least ten years. And by the time the drilling is fully underway in twenty years, our own Department of Energy says that the effect on gas prices will be "insignificant." Insignificant.

• Just yesterday, Senator McCain actually admitted this. In a town hall he said, and I quote, "I don't see an immediate relief" but "the fact that we are exploiting those reserves would have psychological impact that I think is beneficial." Psychological impact. In case you were wondering, that's Washington-speak for, "It polls well."

• I will invest $150 billion over the next ten years in alternative sources of energy like wind power, and solar power, and advanced biofuels - investments that will create up to five million new jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced; that will create billions of dollars in new business like you're already doing here in Nevada.

• My entire energy plan will produce three times the oil savings that John McCain's ever could - and what's more, it will actually decrease our dependence on oil while his will only grow our addiction further.

One item I found strange in Obama's speech was his attack on McCain for NOT voting for the 2005 Energy Bill. Anyone paying attention to energy policy in America over the last five years knows that the 2005 Energy Bill was one of the worse ever written. It was drafted by the oil, gas and coal industries, behind closed doors and with almost no input from environmentalists, scientists or economists. Obama voted for the very bad bill and McCain didn't Apparently Obama is trying to turn this liability into an asset. Obama does admit that the bill wasn't perfect and that as President he would have vetoed it and asked for better legislation. But he points out that the alternative energy tax credit in the bill contributed to a 45% increase in wind electricity generation.

To read the full text of the speech go HERE