American Presidents And Energy: A Challenge Of Leadership

Every American president has wrestled with the question of how best to fuel the country's transportation and other energy needs. Even Abraham Lincoln chose to reject an offer from the King of Siam (the same one of Broadway musical lore) to send over Asian elephants who could propagate here and create a national transportation infrastructure. Lincoln explained to the King that America planned to rely on steamboats and steam-engine railroads, both fueled by burning wood. Modern presidents have found energy issues daunting. A few may even have lost re-election because of this difficult task.nnRichard Nixon confronted the first years of America’s decline in oil production, an Arab oil embargo, and angry motorists stranded in gasoline lines. While Nixon's policies of oil price controls and allocation made the gas lines worse, he responded to the crisis by increasing the nation’s commitment to energy research, starting the Alaska Oil Pipeline, and instituting the 55-mph speed limit. Gasoline shortages and price surges, in addition to the Watergate scandal, brought down his popularity to dangerous levels.nnGerald Ford established energy as a top priority and signed the legislation that established an emergency stockpile of oil and mileage efficiency standards for transportation vehicles. However, his efforts received little recognition from voters or, later, from historians.nnJimmy Carter went on national television to advocate energy conservation, declared energy "the moral equivalent of war," and sent Congress two major waves of energy legislation. New tax credits for insulation, programs to get electric utilities off of oil generation, and other programs helped reduced oil usage. Still, the Iranian Revolution sharply cut world oil supplies, brought about a second outbreak of gasoline lines, and contributed to historic levels of inflation (part of "the misery index" cited by Ronald Reagan).nnRonald Reagan ended controls on the price of crude oil, made major additions to the strategic oil stockpile, and increased U.S. Naval forces in the Persian Gulf to protect the free flow of oil. On the whole, he reversed the energy initiatives of his predecessors and put his faith in "the market" rather than government action to solve energy problems.nnGeorge H.W. Bush became the first president to enter international negotiations to discuss how to combat global climate change, coming largely from the combustion of fossil fuels. He will be best remembered for his successful effort to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait because, in his own words, "Access to Persian Gulf oil and the security of key friendly states in the area are vital to U.S. national security." The war brought a big (but temporary) jump in oil prices, which probably contributed to a later recession.nnBill Clinton was one of our least active presidents on energy matters. In 1993, he proposed a bold BTU (energy) tax, which survived only in tatters. During his second term, he signed the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, but never submitted it for ratification by the Senate, where it faced certain defeat. nnGeorge W. Bush raised doubts about the science of global warming and urged drilling in Alaska as a major thrust of U.S. energy policy. He sent American troops to Iraq, arguably to reassert American oil influence in the region. Little noticed in late 2007, Congress passed and Bush signed the strongest package of energy legislation since 1980, reflecting growing national concerns about the issue.nnJohn McCain and Barack Obama? No one knows with certainty how our next president will handle the ongoing challenges of dependence on foreign oil and global warming. Still, McCain and Obama have devoted more attention to energy this election cycle than any previous presidential candidate, including Carter in 1976. Energy is a hot topic in the politics of 2008, and the positions of the two presidential candidates offer important clues on what they might do in the Oval Office. Whoever wins, history suggests that energy will continue to be an important test of presidential character.nn©2008 Jay HakesnnAuthor Bion