MCCAIN: THE LEXINGTON PROJECT

[The Reaper]

What the POTUS should have done already.

Devil may be in the details, though.

TR

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash6.htm

MCCAIN: THE LEXINGTON PROJECT
Wed June 25, 2008 12:50:11 ET

In recent days I have set before the American people an energy plan, the Lexington Project Ð named for the town where Americans asserted their independence once before. And let it begin today with this commitment:Ê In a world of hostile and unstable suppliers of oil, this nation will achieve strategic independence by 2025.

This pledge is addressed to all concerned -- to those abroad whose power flows from an accident of geology, and to you, my fellow Americans, whose strength proceeds from unity of purpose. Together, we will break the power of OPEC over the United States. And never again will we leave our vital interests at the mercy of any foreign power.

Some will say this goal is unattainable within that relatively short span of years -- it's too hard and we need more time. Let me remind them that in the space of half that time -- about eight years -- this nation conceived and carried out a plan to take three Americans to the Moon and bring them safely home. In less than a third of that time, the gathered energies of my father's generation built the industrial might that overcame Nazi Germany and imperial Japan. That is the scale of our achievement when we set our minds to a task. That is what this country can do when we see a danger, and declare a purpose, and find the will to act.

As president, I will turn all the apparatus of government in the direction of energy independence for our country -- authorizing new production, building nuclear plants, perfecting clean coal, improving our electricity grid, and supporting all the new technologies that one day will put the age of fossil fuels behind us. Much will be asked of industry as well, as automakers and others adapt to this great turn toward new sources of power. And a great deal will depend on each one of us, as we learn to make smarter use of energy, and also to draw on the best ideas of both parties, and work together for the common good.

This Project is not a plan calibrated to please every interest group or to meet every objection. That is how we arrived to our present predicament. That is how energy policy in Washington became a long list of subjects avoided, options ruled out, and possibilities foreclosed. Nor can I promise you that the long-term success of this Project will bring instant relief.Ê In the mission of energy security, some tasks are the work of decades and some the work of years. And they will take all the will and resolve of which we are capable. But I can promise you this. Unless we begin this mission now, nothing will change at all, except for the worse. And when we succeed in the hard reform ahead, your children will live in a more prosperous country, in a more peaceful world.

# # #

[JMI]

Together, we will break the power of OPEC over the United States. .

OPEC? What about the top two countries, Canada and Mexico?

1. Canada
2. Mexico
3. Saudi Arabia
4. Venezuela
5. Nigeria
6. Angola
7. Iraq
8. Algeria
9. United Kingdom
10. Brazil

Those are the top ten countries that provide the US with oil. 6 belong to OPEC (3-8) but a large portion comes from 1-2.

There is a much better way of saying what he has to say without alienating OPEC, IMO.

[jatx]

Originally Posted by JMI

OPEC? What about the top two countries, Canada and Mexico?

Your point is well taken, but leading with the invocation of a favorite boogeyman is sexier and will get more peoples' attention. I like the message, but at this point it is more of a mission statement than a plan.

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by jatx

Your point is well taken, but leading with the invocation of a favorite boogeyman is sexier and will get more peoples' attention. I like the message, but at this point it is more of a mission statement than a plan.

What is Obama's plan?

No new exploration. No new drilling. No new refineries.

Conserve, and pay more every month. Wait for renewable sources of energy.

What is next, telling us to turn the thermostat down and wear our sweaters? Oh, wait, he already did that.

When he and the Dem leadership says that it would take ten years for new drilling to affect prices, it just makes me wish Bill Clinton had not vetoed the last time we tried this, about ten years ago.

Lets come up with a plan, and then flesh it out as we go. Everyone is going to have to give up something for it to be comprehensive, and to work.

TR

[Ambush Master]

Think about Obama's statement about the sudden rise in fuel prices!!! He said that he wished that it had not happend so abruptly, and had been slower!!!

He does'nt give a crap about how high it is!!!

Later
Martin

[JMI]

I guess my point is McCain is taking OIL and making it a national security issue. So OPEC is a threat to our National Security? We buy 18% of our oil from OPEC, 16% from other nations, and the rest - 66% - of our oil comes from Western Nations.

66% from Great Britian, Mexico and Canada, yet "we will break the power OPEC has over our 'vital' interests?"

Not only is he using scare tactics, he is wrong in calling out OPEC. I am not a futures or commodities trader, but I am an educated American. If McCain pulls that same crap the Bush Admin pulled in 2000-2007, he deserves to be kicked to the curb.

Do I want Obama? Probably not. But I will give this man a listen if this kind of hypocrisy on the McCain side is all I have to go on. I am not interested in anything other than debates. I don't want commercials or ads for Dems or Repubs.

Debates and debates only. Take the ads out of the POTUS campaign.

Scare tactics are BS.

[jatx]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

What is Obama's plan?

I'm no Obama fan - but I also hope that McCain has enough command of substance to go beyond the platitudes above, otherwise we'll still be in the same place four years from now.