Alex Miller, editor@vaildaily.com
April 30, 2008

If war with Britain created “times that try men’s souls,” Thomas Paine might write today that these are the times that try our patience — not to mention our patriotism.

How are we supposed to be optimistic about the future of our country when the three candidates (well, two, really, if we count out Hillary as we probably should) don’t talk much about what really ails us? Like many people, I want to believe in the message of hope Barack Obama delivers or that John McCain’s long experience in Washington is the answer to … something. But is either of these men prepared to take the oath of office and really do something different?

Setting aside the question of which candidate is best prepared to lead and innovate, shouldn’t any serious candidate for the presidency of the United States be talking at this point about some kind of big plan? And shouldn’t the mainstream media be pressing them for one, rather than focusing on flag lapel pins or what a candidate’s preacher once said?

It seems so obvious that, of the many problems facing America, energy is at the heart of it all. It is the single issue that a president could rally the whole country around, and simultaneously address a host of other issues. Just imagine if …

• The new president announced an Apollo-style project to transform America’s energy policy, with a crazy goal of becoming energy independent in 10 years. (If you think that’s impossible, just look at what Sweden and Iceland have done.)

• Government and business respond by finding the same spirit that enabled us in World War II to transform much of our manufacturing capability into supplying the war effort. If we could retool an auto plant to turn out a bomber every 10 seconds (OK, I exaggerate), couldn’t the wildly innovative and creative spirit of America do the same for energy? All we lack is leadership — the incentive is already in place ($4 gas, anyone?).

• Over the next decade we find we don’t really care so much about what’s going on in the problematic countries that produce oil — because we simply don’t need all that much of it anymore. As we pull out of those oil-producing states that also breed terrorists, suddenly we find terrorism isn’t so much of a problem anymore, either. Weird.

• The next president works with Congress to take a hard look at where we spend our money and where we really need it. Do we need another aircraft carrier or fleet of nuclear submarines, or might we consider major upgrades to the country’s crumbling infrastructure? Let’s take a chunk out of the half-trillion dollars that goes to “defense” every year and reallocate it to America’s base needs. And let’s start with re-doing completely our antiquated power grids, which are ill-equipped to transfer solar, wind and geothermal energy.

Put simply, what the next president needs to do is marshal the kind of energy and enthusiasm we have for war and direct it into a peaceful remaking of our country into something other than an oil-sucking, carbon-belching world bully. This kind of massive initiative requires a strong, visionary leader who can articulate a plan, get buy-in and implement it quickly. A new energy model for the United States would create jobs, boost the economy, remove us from many foreign entanglements and free up dollars for more important things than a non-defensive war: education, health care, infrastructure, environment, innovation, etc.

Now, is that so much to ask of the person who wants the top job leading the free world?

Alex Miller is responsible for the editorial oversight of the Vail Daily, Eagle Valley Enterprise and Vail Trail. He can be reached at (970) 748-2920, or editor@vaildaily.com.