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Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Obama needs Nunn; we need oil
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s a long-shot that former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia would be Barack Obama’s choice as vice president. But polls make clear that if it’s not Nunn, it’ll have to be somebody like him — a seasoned politician who projects sound judgment and a wealth of experience in dealing with foreign policy and national security issues.
In spite of everything working against John McCain, he’s hanging in there against the rock star. The latest ABC News-Washington Post poll puts Obama up by only six percentage points, 48 to 42, against McCain. Significantly, though, almost half — 46 percent of those polled — don’t think he’s experienced enough to be President. In a world at peace, that might not be a major obstacle. In one where bad guys fly planes into landmark buildings, and where evil regimes could produce nuclear weapons during the next President’s term, being thought too inexperienced for the job is a big-league problem for Obama.
Nunn, while solid, has lost his star-power in the 12 years he’s been out of the U.S. Senate. But that may not matter. Obama needs a vice president like him, if not him.
McCain, meanwhile, has joined to ranks of those who recognize that while this nation may never achieve energy independence, it’s essential to take steps that move us in that direction. He called this week for lifting the federal ban on offshore drilling, with states that approve it collecting a portion of the royalties. Obama opposes that, saying that allowing exploration now won’t affect gasoline prices for at least five years.
President Bush is resuming his push for drilling on a tiny part of the Artic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. While, as Obama would argue, that will take even longer to have impact on domestic supplies, probably a decade, the nation does have to get started. That oil would be flowing now had environmentalists not persuaded former President Bill Clinton to veto authorization when Congress approved it in 1995. Ten years is a long time. But we can project that the day of $4 gas — or $8 gas — will come again. Act now.
