The Oil Drum

Mr. or Madam President,

Vice President Dick Cheney once famously quipped "The American way of life is non-negotiable." I submit that while our next president might not be so brash in stating this, the root of our energy problems can be traced to this attitude. But, nature doesn't negotiate. It doesn't appear that any of the remaining presidential candidates understand the basis of the problems we face: Oil is a depleting, finite resource - albeit one crucial for the "American way of life."

Because this resource is so crucial - and obviously not just for Americans - depletion is going to drive prices up as consumers bid for dwindling supplies. Threatening to sue OPEC isn't going to change that. Threatening to tax Big Oil into submission isn't going to change that. Mandating that we will invent new technologies to meet a greatly increased Renewable Fuel Standard isn't going to change that. These are the sorts of proposals that merely demonstrate that your grasp of the problem is superficial. And you have to understand the problem in order to begin addressing it.

In his second new TV spot of the day — this one now playing in Pennsylvania — Barack Obama's campaign releases a 30 second ad that takes a strong stand against Big Oil, saying he “won’t let them block change anymore.”

My question to you is: Does he have it right? Is this the correct political frame? Is it a winning political frame?

[Hat tip: NY Times Political Blog: "Obama's Big Oil Ad Draws Fire"...go there and fly the TOD flag if you are so inclined.]

A couple of days ago I was reading the CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate transcript. Of course I am always interested to hear what the candidates have to say about energy. There were a lot of good comments, and the usual spattering of dumb comments. But I won't dissect them right now. What got me to thinking were the comments of John Edwards (on Page 2):

First check out this Gas tax article from the WaPo, then watch Barack Obama last night on the CBS Evening News (a 90 second spot on energy policy):

Those looking at the tags before they read this may think I'm insane for putting those first two names in the same post, but I can assure you that I am not.

First, check out our new ad (left side) from BarackObama.com, which takes you to Obama's Senate webpage and a discussion of FERA '06.

Second, Andrew Sullivan finally saw An Inconvenient Truth. His reaction? He recommends it and re-joins the cacophony calling for a large increase in the gas tax, as well as greater R&D&I.

(Of course, Sully also gets in the relatively long line of people taking shots at Al Gore and his attempt to pull a "political Madonna," which also seems to be prevalent in the 'sphere as well. C'mon folks, he invented teh internets!)

Barack Obama today accused President Bush of a "stubborn refusal" to attack the causes of climate change, and said tougher fuel standards, stricter curbs on oil imports and more investment in cleaner energy are essential to avert global catastrophe.

WaPo article can be found here. (This continues a theme of his we've discussed a few times here at TOD).