In Energy Policy, McCain, Obama Differ on Role of Government (WSJ)

[jpak]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121296676181055711.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Arizona Republican John McCain and Illinois Democrat Barack Obama say a lot of the same things about energy and environmental policy: Both want to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil and fight global warming. Both want binding caps on greenhouse-gas emissions. Both see a stepped-up role for nuclear power.

So does that mean that America will get the same energy strategy no matter which candidate wins? Not by a long shot.

Sen. McCain's and Sen. Obama's goals may sound similar, but the candidates would pursue drastically different paths to achieve them. Those differences are coming into sharper focus, with the end of the contentious Democratic nomination battle and the surge in oil prices, which on Friday shot up nearly $11 a barrel.

Sen. Obama is pushing a bigger government role in fostering the development of technologies to reduce emissions and alternatives to fossil fuels. Sen. McCain, meanwhile, argues for a more hands-off approach, saying "unintended consequences" can result from wrongheaded interference in the marketplace.

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