Gore hands the Democrats an issue

The Democrats have more or less dropped the ball in making the energy crisis a meaningful issue so far in this race.

McCain and the GOP have put forward their horrid "drill here, drill now, blah blah blah" plan. But, to some voters, at least they're [seen as] talking about a solution. And it's helped McCain some.

I have no doubt that Obama would be a bazillion times better on the issue than McMaverick and his army of career lobbyists, but so far, he hasn't spelled it out as well as he should.

Today former Vice President Al Gore called on the U.S. to set a real alternative energy goal for the nation.

AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Just as John F. Kennedy set his sights on the moon, Al Gore is challenging the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly energy sources within 10 years, an audacious goal he hopes the next president will embrace

[..]

Gore said he fully understands the magnitude of the challenge.

The Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan group that he chairs, estimates the cost of transforming the nation to so-called clean electricity sources at $1.5 trillion to $3 trillion over 30 years in public and private money. But he says it would cost about as much to build ozone-killing coal plants to satisfy current demand.

"This is an investment that will pay itself back many times over," Gore said. "It's an expensive investment but not compared to the rising cost of continuing to invest in fossil fuels."

This is the way Obama should approach this issue. Propose an Apollo Plan for energy. He hinted at it a bit when he criticized McCain's 'magic battery' pitch. Possibly, he'll elaborate as the campaign continues.

He needs to focus on this issue, contrast the differences in his plan and the GOP's and make it his own.

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And proving that he knows how to get his message out and noticed , Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr was in attendance.

Former Vice President Al Gore speaks about energy and the future, Thursday, July 17, 2008, at Constitution Hall in Washington. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)