tonybelding

McCain recently accused Obama of rehashing the same old failed energy policies from the 1970s. By contrast, McCain wants to rehash the same old failed energy policies from the 1980s. So here's my thumbnail guide to presidential energy policy:

Carter: We must conserve and research alternate energy.

Reagan: We must drill our way out of this problem.

Bush 1: We must protect our friends in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Clinton: Energy what?

Bush 2: Our clan is strong. We take what we need.

On the whole, I think each policy has been less effective than the previous one.

Cobos

This one really gave me a chuckle... it might be true or it might be more like Bush 1 but still, funny still.

Cobos

vfx

So did McCain say why the energy policies of the 70's failed? I remember Carter put solar panels on the roof of the Whitehouse.

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The world loves to be deceived.

Iz

doug

Carter also emphasized conservation. "Put on a sweater!!"
Warm Words from Jimmy Cardigan - TIME

vfx

A very positive article. I wasn't voting back then but in reading this I liked him. It said he was wearing his favorite sweater, not that we should.

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The world loves to be deceived.

doug

Yes, but perceptions change over time. That was a very kind article that was written before things got particularly bad... before the "malaise" set in. People who worked in government buildings froze their butts during those DC winters.

tonybelding

Rightly or wrongly, Carter's conservation policy became defined as "freezing in the dark". It was seen as being all about sacrifice, not so much about efficiency.

Of course there is a gray area in conservation. . . There are things we've become accustomed to that we could, if we were honest, give up without any real pain -- or in some cases we'd actually be better off without them.