Breaking our dependence on foreign oil is a national security issue, and we need to determine who’s plan will do it the fastest in an environmentally safe manner. John McCain says on his policy page on energy:
Our nation’s future security and prosperity depends on the next President making the hard choices that will break our nation’s strategic dependence on foreign sources of energy and will ensure our economic prosperity by meeting tomorrow’s demands for a clean portfolio. John McCain has made the necessary choices – producing more power, pushing technology to help free our transportation sector from its use of foreign oil, cleaning up our air and addressing climate change, and ensuring that Americans have dependable energy sources. John McCain will lead the effort to develop advanced transportation technologies and alternative fuels to promote energy independence and cut off the flow of oil wealth to repressive dictatorships like Iran.
But this video just came out of an interview that Obama gave at the San Francisco Chronicle. He talks coal, nuclear and other forms of energy (his policy page on energy). A couple things to note about the video: he says that coal powered plants would be bankrupted under his policy. He also pretty much takes nuclear off the table as an area of focus. He was a Johnny-come-lately on offshore drilling, and I believe that was politically motivated.
HT: Drudge Report
Obviously, we need to pursue clean coal technology and safe nuclear waste disposal, but to write these policies off I think is foolish. To break our dependence on foreign oil we need to pursue many different options. Nothing should be off the table at this point.
McCain’s position on energy I believe is more comprehensive and will do the most to help us break this unhealthy dependence on oil. Whoever ends up in the White House though needs to seriously consider the Pickens Plan for a transition from non-renewable to renewable energy sources.