Obama is right to take Bush to task on energy policy
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Printable FormatDAILY SOUTHTOWN
THE ISSUE: Sen. Barack Obama criticizes President Bush's energy policy, saying it 'is not a serious effort.'
WE SAY: The record indicates Obama is right. Funding for energy research has not risen under Bush. Obama offers solid proposals to help Americans become less reliant on oil.
President Bush promised in this year's State of the Union speech to enact policies that would wean America from its "addiction to oil."
Skeptics said it was just a speech, that Bush had made similar promises in the past but never followed through. Once again, it appears the skeptics were right.
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama said in a speech this week that the president's energy policy "is not a serious effort," and it's hard to dispute that assessment.
Obama noted that the president's funding for renewable energy research is at the same level today as it was the day he took office -- before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and before the price of gasoline rose above $3 per gallon, then settled back near the $2.70 mark. "He refuses to call for even a modest increase in fuel-efficiency standards for cars. And his latest budget funds less than half of the energy bill he himself signed into law," Obama said.
Speaking at a newspaper industry convention in Chicago, Obama criticized the Bush administration for its lack of leadership on energy issues, a criticism that could rightly be laid a the feet of every president who has served since it became clear U.S. dependence on oil was setting up the nation for foreign affairs and economic disasters. But more importantly, Obama offered concrete proposals for policy changes that could set the nation on a course toward correcting its energy-related mistakes.
The Democratic senator already has proposed legislation under which the government would help the auto industry cover its multibillion-dollar annual cost for retiree health costs in exchange for the industry developing and producing more fuel-efficient cars.
Obama called for fuel economy standards to increase three percent a year over the next 15 years, starting in 2008. He said the nation should reduce daily oil imports by 7.5 million barrels a day by 2025, substantially higher than the administration's goal of 4.5 million barrels.
He also encouraged the use of ethanol and said he supports tax breaks for companies that install the necessary fuel tanks on their cars and for consumers who use E85, a blended fuel.
Obama said energy independence is one of the issues Democrats should stress during the 2008 Presidential campaign. Obama is right, but that could be the tricky part for Democrats, who are drooling at the possibility of regaining the White House and control of Congress. In recent decades, some Americans have become more environmentally aware, but many others still balk at making substantial sacrifices at the expense of comfort or status. Those are the ones who still laugh at the image of sweater-wearing Jimmy Carter, who three decades ago sounded the same warning Obama is now.
Obama has become his party's point man on key issues. Some skeptics say he is using that role to lay the groundwork for a presidential run of his own someday, though he vows he will not be part of the Democratic ticket in 2008. On this issue, however, Obama may merely be using his position as a senator in a way it's supposed to be used -- to promote change that will benefit the nation as a whole. We believe that in this instance his vision is better than the Bush administration's.