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.

–Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), in a statement on Wednesday in response to the verdict in the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan.

–Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in a statement Wednesday on the verdict (AFP) in the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan.

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.

• 64 percent of Americans favor U.S. cooperation and engagement with China, while 33 percent said the United States should work to inhibit China’s rise.
• 32 percent said they would support a U.S. military response if China were to invade Taiwan.
• The study finds Americans “wary” of Chinese economic advantage. 52 percent opposed U.S. financial or technological support for helping China or India cope with climate change.

To read the whole report, click here (PDF).

To learn about the presidential candidates’ approaches to U.S. policy toward rising China, see this CFR.org Issue Tracker on the topic.

–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.

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.

• 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.

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.”

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.