You can read the president’s remarks to the nation here. The only part I care about it this:
When I was a candidate for this office, I laid out a set of principles that would move our country towards energy independence. Last year, the House of Representatives acted on these principles by passing a strong and comprehensive energy and climate bill –- a bill that finally makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy for America’s businesses.
Now, there are costs associated with this transition. And there are some who believe that we can’t afford those costs right now. I say we can’t afford not to change how we produce and use energy -– because the long-term costs to our economy, our national security, and our environment are far greater.
So I’m happy to look at other ideas and approaches from either party -– as long they seriously tackle our addiction to fossil fuels. Some have suggested raising efficiency standards in our buildings like we did in our cars and trucks. Some believe we should set standards to ensure that more of our electricity comes from wind and solar power. Others wonder why the energy industry only spends a fraction of what the high-tech industry does on research and development -– and want to rapidly boost our investments in such research and development.
All of these approaches have merit, and deserve a fair hearing in the months ahead. But the one approach I will not accept is inaction. The one answer I will not settle for is the idea that this challenge is somehow too big and too difficult to meet. You know, the same thing was said about our ability to produce enough planes and tanks in World War II. The same thing was said about our ability to harness the science and technology to land a man safely on the surface of the moon. And yet, time and again, we have refused to settle for the paltry limits of conventional wisdom. Instead, what has defined us as a nation since our founding is the capacity to shape our destiny -– our determination to fight for the America we want for our children. Even if we’re unsure exactly what that looks like. Even if we don’t yet know precisely how we’re going to get there. We know we’ll get there.
It sounds like Obama is going to fight for the climate part of the climate and energy bill. That’s great. A lot of people doubted that he would try. I wish he had spelled out a little what the obstacle is to tackling the climate part of the bill, which is a combination of the filibuster rule and a handful of Democrats from coal and oil producing states. I don’t think he needed to pick a fight with anyone in particular, but he should have told people that he needs their support to break procedural hurdles that won’t even allow him to get a vote on tackling these issues. If he’s going to go to war, and it sounds like he’s prepared to that, he has to rally the troops. I see this as too conciliatory, which is an ongoing critique of the president that many share.
On the other hand, the president tends to win, and he tends to know what he can get and what he can’t. If he thinks he can get climate legislation passed, he knows something that I don’t.