Barack Obama Slams Frank Wolf on Energy?

Well, no, not exactly. But Obama might as well have slammed Frank Wolf this morning in his speech, "New Energy for America." How's that? In the following excerpt from Obama's speech, simply replace the words "John McCain" with "Frank Wolf" and see how much sense it makes!

Despite all this, here we are, in another election, still talking about our oil addiction; still more dependent than ever. Why?

You won't hear me say this too often, but I couldn't agree more with the explanation that Senator McCain offered a few weeks ago. He said, "Our dangerous dependence on foreign oil has been thirty years in the making, and was caused by the failure of politicians in Washington to think long-term about the future of the country."

What Senator McCain neglected to mention was that during those thirty years, he was in Washington for twenty-six of them. And in all that time, he did little to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. He voted against increased fuel efficiency standards and opposed legislation that included tax credits for more efficient cars. He voted against renewable sources of energy. Against clean biofuels. Against solar power. Against wind power. Against an energy bill that - while far from perfect - represented the largest investment in renewable sources of energy in the history of this country. So when Senator McCain talks about the failure of politicians in Washington to do anything about our energy crisis, it's important to remember that he's been a part of that failure. Now, after years of inaction, and in the face of public frustration over rising gas prices, the only energy proposal he's really promoting is more offshore drilling - a position he recently adopted that has become the centerpiece of his plan, and one that will not make a real dent in current gas prices or meet the long-term challenge of energy independence.

The only serious difference between John McCain and Frank Wolf? McCain's been in Washington since 1983, while Wolf's been there since 1981. Other than that, it's the same tired old rhetoric, the same failed policies (or lack thereof) that got us into this mess in the first place. The energy crisis: just one good reason why it's clearly time for a change, from John McBush and Frank Wolf to Barack Obama and Judy Feder, this November. Go Judy!