Obama's State of the Union Address and Energy Policy

Renewable energy legend and 2GreenEnergy associate Bill Paul writes:

From last night's State of the Union: "the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy. And America must be that nation." I wonder how many people heard that and thought about how to invest in alternative energy?

For sure.  I'm always happy to hear Obama talk about progressive energy policy, and there is no doubt that he and his people have done ten times more in this regard in the last few months than was accomplished in the previous eight years combined.  But to me, all the pandering to the masses in that address served more to confuse people than to enlighten and motivate them. Obama actually mentioned coal and nuclear (along with solar, wind, etc.) in the list of energy sources that we need to support! So exactly what he is he against? Feeding toxic waste to schoolchildren and categorizing it as a vegetable?  If you're willing to say anything so as not to alienate any voters regardless of their beliefs or means of livelihood, you're really not saying anything at all.

This, by the way, is one of the many reasons that I couldn't get elected dog-catcher. I don’t want to sound holier-than-thou, but I couldn’t bring myself to say things that make no sense, simply to make people cheer.

It has been the decades of glad-handing, of sacrificing tomorrow's stability and security to win today's elections that have gotten us into the mess in which we find ourselves -- and this is a textbook example.  Maybe it's time for a little truth.  Nobody likes unemployment.  But the fact is that more workers need to be displaced from industries that are simply unsupportable by honest, clear-thinking people.  And coal mining, in my opinion, is most certainly one of them.  An honest leader needs simply to say that.