GOP can take steam out of Obama's 'clean energy' campaign

[Geee]

Washington Examiner:

Over the last few weeks, while the chatter in Washington has been focused on dogs, Osama bin Laden, and the War on Women, President Obama's re-election campaign has been devoting its resources to a far more important topic: the economy.

This week, in response to an Americans for Prosperity ad attacking Obama for wasting taxpayer money on green energy companies, Obama's campaign spent $780,000 on ads in Virginia, Ohio and Iowa, claiming that "Obama's clean energy initiatives have helped create jobs for projects across America."

This ad buy came after an April splurge in which Obama spent $1.4 million in six battleground states -- Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Nevada and Virginia. The April ads also touted Obama's record on energy -- specifically the claim that Obama is "doubling renewable energy."

The first television ad of Obama's re-election campaign, which aired in January, also focused on energy and jobs. "America's clean energy industry, 2.7 million jobs and 'expanding rapidly,' " the ad claimed. It ran in six states -- Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Obama may have spent the majority of his first term fighting for his health care agenda, but it appears he wants to run for re-election on his energy agenda. This is a debate conservatives should be very eager to have. There is a stark contrast between Obama and conservatives on energy policy, and Obama's programs have had very disappointing results.

Obama sees the federal government as the main driver of economic change in the energy sector. Hence his focus on "clean energy initiatives" and "jobs for projects across America." But how many jobs and how much energy?