Take energy and climate change. During the campaign he repeated again and again that one of his top priorities will be to achieve energy independence and to tackle climate change by encouraging investment in alternate energy sources.
While Obama talks about the need for researching and building renewable energy sources, oil companies, such as Chevron, are busy advertising that we need many different sources of energy - including oil, of course.
Ret. Gen James Jones, who Obama appointed as National Security Adviser, sits on the board of Chevron Corp. In addition, since March 2007 he has been president and chief executive of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy. The institute recommends digging for more oil:
We call, in our report, for example, we suggest that it's time to consider an end to the moratorium on the production of oil and gas off our lands and off our shores. This is something that should be discussed and it shouldn't be rejected out of hand. We propose increase in research and development, incentivizing research for clean coal technology, including carbon capture and storage. Again, more needs to be done on this issue. We think we should invest in alternative fuels and renewable energy. We should get serious about energy efficiency in all across our sectors. And we should modernize and protect the energy infrastructure that we have. And we should provide for a new and more streamlined regulatory framework for energy investments but one that is much more rapid and much more agile so that we can deal with the problem in real time.
And read this:
Today, an institute executive will hold a chamber-sponsored discussion about global warming featuring Lawrence Solomon, the author of a book questioning whether there is a scientific consensus on climate change.
On the surface, the Jones appointment seems wrong. Sure the president needs and wants all sorts of opinions. You would expect, though, that an appointee would be in agreement with the president on fundamentals. However, Jones talks the same talk as the oil companies: We need oil, we must have oil, we can't get along without oil.
Someone like Jones will challenge Obama all the time. Many progressives are upset because Jones as well as most of the appointees are on the center-right and none on the center-left where Obama supposedly is. They are afraid that over time Obama will be influenced by these advisers to go in the center-right direction.
I admit that I have thought in this vein myself. However, Obama has stated repeatedly that he does not care if ideas come from the right or left as long as they solve the problem. By appointing center-right experts to his team he is telling the world he is adhering to his campaign promise.
This definitely does not mean he will govern as a conservative. His basic goals - helping ordinary workers economically, fighting global warming, enacting universal healthcare and recapturing our world reputation - are rock solid. His advisers will argue for the best implementation approaches.
So I do not fear that President Obama will become more conservative. He is tough and smart enough to have his own way with his climate-change rival and with all the other rivals on his team.
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