MCCAIN ON ENERGY

This post implies no endorsement; not even approval. Despite the Wall Street Journal's mention that a New Hampshire group endorses the plan, the only thing interesting about it is how much like the other candidates’ plans it is.

W.House hopeful McCain details energy platform
Chris Baltimore, April 23, 2007 (Reuters via Yahoo News)

WHO
Republican Arizona Senator and candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination John McCain

WHAT
Senator McCain described in some detail his energy policy. He called it “…a declaration of independence from the fear bred by our reliance on oil sheiks…”

WHEN
The energy policy was described Monday, April 23.

WHERE
McCain spoke at Washington, D.C., think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.

WHY
Picking easy targets, McCain attacked OPEC “oil sheiks” and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He advocated ethanol from corn and switchgrass but also called for dropping tariffs for imported ethanol. He called for a carbon cap-and-trade system to use market pressures against greenhouse gas emissions. He also proposed building more nuclear power plants because they don’t generate emissions, though he offered no solution for the storage of waste. He also advocated conservation measures such as “high-tech lightbulbs, space-age building materials for cars and lighter, more powerful batteries to obviate the need for crude oil to power cars.”
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QUOTES
- Democratic National Committee spokesman Luis Miranda: "John McCain can't have it both ways, hiring a lobbyist for Saudi Arabia as one of his campaign's top strategists while at the same time calling for energy independence…"
- McCain: "The barriers to nuclear energy are political, not technological…"
- McCain: "We need to dispel the image of conservation that entail shivering in cold rooms reading by candlelight and lower productivity…"