In a campaign fraught with too much focus on personal attack issues that are really no more than minutiae and distraction, it was good to see Republican nominee Mitt Romney zero in on what we believe to be the No. 1 issue of this presidential campaign -- a real energy policy for the country.
The former Massachusetts governor, speaking in Hobbs, N.M., called for complete "North America energy independence by 2020," which would mean producing all the energy used in North America.
To do so, the vast energy reserves of this country, Canada and Mexico, which are continually growing because of technology and innovation, should be unsheathed from the far too protective and intrusive reach of government.
What that means is more oil and gas exploration; responsible drilling on more federal lands; more refineries being OK'd and put into production; more technology advanced and encouraged for a cleaner usage of coal; the permitting process for mining streamlined, with unnecessary duplicative steps identified and eliminated; and renewables (solar, wind, geothermal etc.) as part of the overall energy policy mix and national program, but not hailed as something to "save the globe" and put on far too high of a subsidy pedestal.
Romney projects that his energy proposal would create 3 million new jobs and $1 trillion in new revenue. Those are nice figures that are oh so needed to jump-start this stalled economy. ...
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This presidential campaign needs to be elevated on the issues. And there is no more important issue than the nation's energy policy.
Great job by Mitt Romney on this issue so vital to American's future.
Mesabi Daily News
