Obama's Energy Bill

From Reuters:

President Barack Obama's muted call for comprehensive energy legislation failed to sway a hesitant Congress on Wednesday, with hopes for approval before November elections fading fast.

In his first national address from the Oval Office, Obama said on Tuesday the Gulf of Mexico oil spill provided a chance to break the U.S. dependence on fossil fuels and find new ways to power factories, automobiles and electric utilities so they emit fewer global warming pollutants.

But he offered no specifics, and the lack of guidance frustrated some supporters and lent little urgency to an issue that has fallen down a crowded list of congressional priorities less than five months before the election.

"Some say you've got to bring climate change to the floor of the Senate right now. I don't think there's 60 votes for a climate change bill," said Senator Byron Dorgan, a member of the Democratic leadership, referring to the votes needed to overcome Senate procedural hurdles.

In an effort to whip up support in Congress for an energy bill, Obama will meet leading Republican and Democratic senators next Tuesday, a White House aide said.

Obama missed a chance to push strongly for a comprehensive bill in his speech, settling instead for "a bland enumeration of alternatives," said Bill Galston of the Brookings Institution, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton.

"The president's speech tacitly sounded the death-knell for the inclusion of serious climate change provisions in any energy bill that Congress might enact this year," he said.

...Republicans criticized Obama for using the Gulf oil spill for his own political purposes.

"The White House may view this oil spill as an opportunity to push its agenda in Washington, but Americans are more concerned about what it plans to do to solve the crisis in the Gulf," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said.

Is it surprising that Americans, even Obama's backers, have lost faith in Obama's ability to lead?

Some of Obama's most fervent supporters now realize he lacks the capacity to be an effective executive. They're stunned by Obama's incompetence. Poor disillusioned souls!

We need to clean up the oil spill and address the enormous damage in the Gulf. Obama shouldn't be yapping about putting a man on the moon.