Posted on Thursday, August 7th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) called for an “economic surge” (MSNBC) on Wednesday. “Our surge has succeeded in Iraq militarily. Now we need an economic surge to keep jobs here at home and create new ones,” he said. He also said the United States needs to “open new markets” to its products.
ENERGY CHOICES: Policy adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin defended McCain’s “all of the above” energy policy plan (Chicago Sun-Times) in a memo on Wednesday, saying McCain “does support aggressive development of alternative and renewable energy sources. He will support the development of alcohol-based fuels, establish a permanent research and development tax credit to support energy innovation, and will encourage an even-handed system of tax credits for renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and biomass.”
CHINA: NPR’s Mike Shuster says U.S. policy toward China has not figured prominently in the presidential campaign so far.
Posted in China, Economy, Energy Policy, General Election, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
Posted on Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 by campaign2008
The Washington Post says the candidates are using the topic of energy policy to “to tack back to core themes of their campaigns.”
Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) campaign on Tuesday provided ABC’s Jake Tapper with more detail on the Democratic candidate’s plan to impose a windfall profits tax on oil companies. A “well-designed mechanism can impose a fee on a small share of these windfall profits without affecting incentives for oil companies and without affecting the price of oil,” the campaign said.
A Wall Street Journal political blog describes Sen. John McCain’s tour on Tuesday of a Michigan nuclear plant.
Posted in Energy Policy, General Election, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 by campaign2008
“[N]uclear power alone is not enough. Drilling alone is not enough. We need to do all this and more. That is why I am calling for an ‘all of the above’ approach. I am also calling on Congress to come back into session to deal with this pressing energy challenge.”
–Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in remarks Tuesday at a Michigan nuclear power plant.
“I will call on businesses, government, and the American people to meet the goal of reducing our demand for electricity 15 percent by the end of the next decade. This is by far the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to reduce our energy consumption – and it will save us $130 billion on our energy bills.”
–Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), in a speech Tuesday in Youngstown, Ohio.
Posted in Energy Policy, General Election, Quote of the Day | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 by campaign2008
The debate on energy policy intensifies today with Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) set to deliver an address in Ohio calling for a mixture of alternatives “that will bring new energy, new jobs and new hope to Youngstown and communities across Ohio and this nation.”
Excerpts of the planned address are available on a TIME magazine blog.Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will visit a nuclear plant in Michigan today to promote atomic energy as an alternative to dependence on foreign oil sources.
Posted in Energy Policy, General Election, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, August 4th, 2008 by Joanna Klonsky
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) recast his energy plan on Monday in a major speech (PDF) in Lansing, Michigan. Obama said his “New Energy for America” plan includes measures to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and confront the problem of climate change.
- Under the plan, Obama would implement a windfall profits tax on oil companies and use the proceeds to provide a $1000 tax rebate for married couples and a $500 tax rebate for individuals. Those rebates would “offset the entire increase in gas prices for a working family over the next four months; or pay for the entire increase in winter heating bills for a typical family in a cold‐weather state,” Obama said.
- In an apparent shift of position, Obama said the United States should sell 70 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve “for less expensive crude, which in the past has lowered gas prices within two weeks.” In July, Obama said he did not believe the United States should use that reserve supply.
- The plan also calls for a “Use it or Lose It” approach to existing oil company leases. Obama said he will tell oil companies to drill on the 68 million acres “they currently have access to but haven’t touched.” If they do not use those areas, “we should require them to give up their leases to someone who will,” he said.
- Obama briefly mentioned the use of nuclear energy, pledging to “find safer ways to use nuclear power and store nuclear waste.” The energy plan says Obama will “develop requirements to ensure that the waste stored at current reactor sites is contained using the most advanced” technology available.
Posted in Climate Change, Energy Policy, General Election | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, August 4th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will unveil his “New Energy for America” plan (Chicago Sun-Times) on Monday in Lansing, Michigan. Under the plan, Obama would grant a rebate to help Americans cope with high gas prices, seek to create five million new “green jobs,” and eliminate U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern oil in ten years, says the Obama campaign.
The Democratic Party will call the Iraq war a “strategic blunder” in its 2008 convention platform, NBC reports.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said President Bush should avoid confrontation with the Chinese during his trip to Beijing for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. “You don’t want to go over there and insult the Chinese,” he said. “It would not be good for our relations.”
Posted in China, Energy Policy, General Election, Iraq, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
Posted on Friday, August 1st, 2008 by campaign2008
In a town hall meeting in Iowa on Thursday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) discussed his energy plan (Des Moines Register) and responded to news that Exxon Mobil made nearly $12 billion last quarter. “While big oil is making record profits, you are paying record prices at the pump, and our economy is leaving working people behind,” Obama said.
McCain adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin used the release of GDP data on Thursday as an opportunity to promote free trade. “When 95% of the world’s consumers live outside our borders, it is crucial that we do everything we can to expand markets for American goods and level the playing field for American businesses and workers,” he said in a statement.
Posted in Energy Policy, General Election, Morning Update, Trade | 0 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 by campaign2008
The Wall Street Journal is hosting an online debate on trade policy between an economic adviser to Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), Daniel Tarullo, and an economic adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Phillip Levy. Both have offered differed responses to collapse of the WTO talks in Geneva.In a Washington Post op-ed, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who advises McCain, assesses the changing conditions in Iraq and says a withdrawal from Iraq is not necessary to free forces for Afghanistan.
A new poll (LAT) shows a slim majority of Californians favoring increased drilling off their coast. McCain discussed his energy views with Colorado’s KRDO radio on Tuesday.
Obama praised the reauthorization on Tuesday of the global AIDS bill, which he said represents “a renewed and expanded commitment by the United States” to fight AIDS around the world.
Posted in Afghanistan, Energy Policy, General Election, Iraq, Morning Update, Trade | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 by campaign2008
After touring a California oil field on Monday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) again called for offshore drilling (WashPost). He disputed claims that offshore drilling might not yield benefits for years, saying some oil producers told him there are some cases in which oil could be available “within a matter of months.” He said the timeframe would depend “on the location and whether you use existing rigs or have to install new rigs.”
In an interview with Larry King on Monday night, McCain discussed his views on Iraq, and clarified a statement last week that Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) proposed sixteen-month timetable for withdrawal from Iraq seemed “pretty good” (ChiTrib). He said that sixteen-month goal should not be “hard and fast,” but rather should be “condition-based.”
Obama will meet (MSNBC) with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Posted in Energy Policy, General Election, Iraq, Morning Update, Pakistan | 0 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 by campaign2008
Discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in an interview with ABC’s Charlie Gibson on Wednesday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) said the parties involved will have to decide whether to include Hamas in negotiations.
MCCAIN: In a separate interview with Gibson, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said the United States should move its embassy to Jerusalem. McCain also attributed a drop in gas prices this week to President Bush’s declaration that he would lift a moratorium on offshore drilling.
In a new CFR.org podcast, a scholar at an Israeli think tank discusses how the country views the U.S. elections, and says the most important issue for Israelis is the U.S. stance toward Iran.
The AP previews Barack Obama’s Europe tour, underway today, and says “Obamamania” is in full effect in many parts of the continent.
Posted in Energy Policy, General Election, Palestinian-Israeli | 0 Comments »
