HILLARY: WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE

Clinton Proposes Clean Energy Fund; Says Energy Independence Should Be Approached Like 60s Space Race
Carolyn Thompson (with Ben Dobbin), February 26, 2007 (AP via Yahoo Finance)
- …Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton flew back to New York Monday and suggested the country approach energy independence the way it approached space exploration.

- "If we landed a man on the moon and brought him back safely to Earth within a decade…we know we can do this," said Clinton, pushing for a $50 billion ["Strategic Energy Fund," which would pay for clean energy research and development by ending tax breaks for big oil]…reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil. "It'll be like an Apollo Project for energy…"
- …Clinton noted [Al] Gore's [Oscar-winning acceptance speech] plea to "exercise the will to begin to change."
- "Well, that's what's happening right here…I hope to give some push and some money to accelerating that will."
- Clinton said she would introduce the energy fund legislation Tuesday…
Republicans had warned that Clinton's home-state constituents wouldn't see much of her once her Senate re-election campaign was over…Clinton scheduled energy-related stops in Oswego and Rochester, where she said she is "working very hard" to represent New York while running for the presidency…

- In Tonawanda, Clinton said the country is "nowhere near" being able to eliminate coal from its energy strategy, but promoted incentives for cleaner technology…"The time has come to invest in the technology, the knowledge and the work force to build and operate these next-generation power plants…to use our enormous coal reserves to meet a significant portion of our electricity needs without contributing to global warming."
- …Clinton blamed President Bush specifically for failing to push energy alternatives that would help safeguard the environment…