Obama focuses on energy security
Posted: Friday, July 11, 2008 4:23 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC/NJ’s Athena Jones
DAYTON, Ohio --
Obama made his third trip to the battleground state of Ohio since the primary season ended, holding a town hall on energy security here at which he spoke about the need to “end the tyranny of oil”.
The energy-focused event, held in front of a mixed crowd of about 1,300 people packed into a gymnasium, was aimed at connecting with a voting public that has been struggling with high gas prices and other economic hardships.
VIDEO: Barack Obama addresses the U.S. energy crisis at a rally in Ohio. NBC's Athena Jones reports.
Calling the price of a barrel of oil “one of the most dangerous weapons in the world,” Obama argued America’s dependence on foreign oil was a threat to national security and that Washington and politicians like
McCain had not offered long-term strategies.
The senator announced no new proposals as he laid out his plans for a new energy policy, including support for research and development into alternative fuels and raising fuel efficiency standards, and highlighted his differences with McCain on energy in general and on specific issues like the gas tax holiday proposal to offshore drilling in particular.
Obama slammed McCain for voting against clean biofuels, solar power, wind power and against an energy bill that represented the largest investment in renewable sources of energy in the history of this country and mocked the Arizona senator’s recent remarks that Washington had done little over the last 30 years to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil, noting that McCain has been in Washington for about 26 years.
“When he talks about the failure of politicians in Washington to do anything about our energy crisis, understand that John McCain should look in the mirror because Sen. McCain has been a part of that failure,” he said.
The presumptive Democratic nominee plans to focus on national security next week, addressing what he called “new threats” like climate change, stateless terrorists, loose nuclear weapons and the spread of pandemic disease.
The RNC responded this way: “Barack Obama’s rhetoric on energy is at complete odds with his record. Today, Barack Obama launched an unbridled attack on the ’05 energy bill that he voted for, and then had the audacity to criticize John McCain for voting against it. Which is it, did he support President Bush’s 2005 energy bill or oppose it, because we’re confused?”
