Obama energy bill push straight out of Rahm playbook

Obama allies said they agreed that an energy bill was an important priority for the president.

“I think energy is very close to President Obama’s heart,” said former Clinton White House official Paul Begala. “I went back and re-read his 2004 convention keynote address. In a very thematic speech, he made a point of raising energy. Even his Inaugural Address included a plug for his energy ideas. This is a big deal for him.”

But Gibbs refused to say whether the Kerry-Lieberman bill – which is a cap and trade bill – should be the starting point for energy legislation negotiations. There is talk that the White House would be fine if energy legislation looked more like that proposed by Sen. Richard Lugar, Indiana Republican.

The Lugar bill would focus on mandates for vehicle and building fuel efficiency, rather than an economy wide system for capping and pricing carbon emissions.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, will meet with Democratic senators on Thursday to discuss a way forward on the issue. Obama will meet with Democratic and Republican senators next week at the White House.

The lack of specifics in Obama’s address to the nation Tuesday night elicited howls of fury from those on the hard left who want a punitive carbon-pricing system.

At the same time, Republicans have decried the Obama push for a bill as exploitative of the oil spill in the Gulf.

“President Obama should not exploit this crisis to impose a job-killing national energy tax on struggling families and small businesses,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner, Ohio Republican. “There’s nothing responsible or reasonable about a national energy tax that will raise energy costs and destroy more American jobs.”

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