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Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks Monday about energy policy at the Lansing Center.

Obama speaks about energy plan in Lansing

LANSING -- In a reversal, Barack Obama proposed Monday that the government sell 70 million barrels of oil from its strategic petroleum stockpile to help reduce gasoline prices.

The Democratic presidential candidate said in a major energy speech at the Lansing Center that in the short-run the move could help drive down gasoline prices that now top $4 a gallon.

Previously, Obama opposed tapping into the reserve, but campaign spokeswoman Heather Zichal said he reconsidered because "Americans are suffering."

Past releases from the reserve have "lowered gas prices within two weeks," Obama said.

The Illinois Democrat said U.S. politicians have failed for three decades to deal with the energy crisis and his GOP rival John McCain has "been part of that failure."

Speaking to reporters in Pennsylvania, McCain again advocated more oil drilling off the U.S. coast. "Anybody who says that we can achieve energy independence without using and increasing these existing energy resources either doesn't have the experience to understand the challenge that we face or isn't giving the American people some straight talk."

Obama is emphasizing energy and the economy in campaign stops this week in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. Gas prices have become a top issue in the presidential contest, and polls show McCain has used the issue to gain ground on Obama.

Obama called tapping the petroleum reserve a short-term response to a long-term problem.

"Breaking our oil addiction is one of the greatest challenges our generation will ever face. It will take nothing less than a complete transformation of our economy," he said. "This transformation will be costly, and given the fiscal disaster we will inherit from the last administration, it will likely require us to defer some other priorities."

Obama also reiterated his statement Friday that he could support limited new offshore drilling if it were needed to enact a compromise energy policy to foster fuel-efficient autos and alternative energy sources.

Such a compromise was proposed Friday by 10 moderate to conservative senators from both parties. It would allow some drilling off Southern states.

"Like all compromises, this one has its drawbacks. It includes a limited amount of new offshore drilling, and while I still don't believe that's a particularly meaningful short-term or long-term solution, I am willing to consider it if it's necessary to actually pass a comprehensive plan," Obama said. "I am not interested in making the perfect the enemy of the good particularly since there is so much good in this compromise that would actually reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

The Illinois senator said of McCain, "Like George Bush and Dick Cheney before him, he sees more drilling as the answer to all of our energy problems, and like them, he's found a receptive audience in the very same oil companies that have blocked our progress for so long. In fact, he raised more than $1 million from big oil just last month."

Also on Monday, the Obama campaign unveiled a television ad that criticizes McCain's energy policies.

"After one president in the pocket of big oil we can't afford another," says the ad, referring to President Bush's previous work in the oil industry.

The nation's strategic petroleum reserve contains 707.2 million barrels in salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana. It was last tapped shortly after Hurricane Katrina. Otherwise, President Bush has refused to use the reserves, saying they need to be kept for emergencies. However, under congressional pressure, Bush stopped filling the reserve in June until prices decline.

Obama's call for using the government reserve mirrors a proposal that pushed by congressional Democrats, but opposed by Republicans and the White House.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for weeks has called for Bush to withdraw a "small amount" of oil from the government reserve to try to force down prices.

Both candidates have energy proposals to reduce U.S. dependence on oil. Obama's was first, and its centerpiece is a 10-year, $150 billion spending plan focusing on clean coal technology, further development of plug-in hybrid cars, commercialization of wind and solar power and other measures.

Monday August 04, 2008

Barack Obama has Chosen Sen. Joe Biden to be his Running Mate

Sen. Barack Obama (L) and Sen. Joseph Biden (R)

While most of us slept, early Saturday morning, Barack Obama named Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware as his vice presidential running mate, balancing his ticket with a seasoned congressional veteran well-versed in foreign policy and defense issues.

Obama announced the pick on his Web site with a photo of the two men and an appeal for donations. A text message went out shortly afterward that said, "Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee." Across more than 30 years in the Senate, he has served at various times not only as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee but also as head of the Judiciary Committee, with its jurisdiction over anti-crime legislation, Supreme Court nominees and Constitutional issues.

Hurricane Ike roars onto South Florida and the Keys

Tourists and residents alike are ordered to evacuate Key West ahead of hurricane Ike, which is expected to hit the U.S on Tuesday. A steady stream of traffic filled the highway from the island. Ike is forecast to make landfall later in the week between the Florida Panhandle and the Texas coast — with New Orleans once again in the crosshairs.

The hurricane also slowed efforts to bring oil and gas production back online in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Gustav.

Ike first slammed into the Turks and Caicos and the southernmost Bahamas islands as a

Category 4 hurricane, but thousands rode out the storm in shelters and there was no immediate word of deaths on the low-lying islands.

It made landfall in eastern Cuba late Sunday night, according to the U.S National Hurricane Center, and was forecast to hit Havana, the capital of 2 million people, before it moves into the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday morning.

At 2am EDT, Ike was a Category 3 hurricane with top sustained winds of 120 mph. It was centered about 85 miles east of Camaguey, moving westward at 14 mph. The hurricane center said Ike is likely to weaken as it moves over Cuba during the next day or so.

A man puts up plywood at a shop as protection against Hurricane Ike in Key West, Florida

Cars drive north on US1 highway in Key Largo, Florida as Hurricane Ike approaches