President Obama has been ripped apart from the left and right for his address on the oil spill. Even the Huffington Post had “JUNK SHOT” on the cover of their homepage.

But was it really that bad? Not all of it. Check this excerpt: "For decades, we have talked and talked about the need to end America's century-long addiction to fossil fuels. And for decades, we have failed to act with the sense of urgency that this challenge requires. Time and again, the path forward has been blocked - not only by oil industry lobbyists, but also by a lack of political courage and candor… Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash American innovation and seize control of our own destiny."

And as David Roberts pointed out, Obama's energy pitch didn’t include his ritual nods to "clean coal," nuclear power, and…domestic drilling. It was just energy efficiency and renewable energy. “That strikes me as a deliberate (and welcome) message to the Senate about what Obama wants on the energy side of a bill,” said Roberts.“That's hardly enough to salvage the speech, of course. But it's not nothing.”

It will take more than hope.  

 

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