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McCain Strikes Out on Renewable Energy

Candidate features wind turbines in ads but again skips vital energy vote

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 13, 2008 3:25 AM CDT

(Newser) – John McCain's tough talk on energy has been undercut by his failure to vote on a vital renewable energy bill, Thomas L. Friedman writes in the New York Times. The bill, which has failed yet again to pass, would have extended tax credits for wind and solar projects, but McCain's absence—for the eighth time—is helping to stall those projects, and holding up thousands of jobs.

Unlike offshore drilling, the wind and solar projects could "make an immediate impact on America's energy profile," but uncertainty on tax credits is keeping investors away, Freidman writes. New technologies could be the only way to solve America's energy crisis, argues Friedman, and McCain's "bogus rhetoric" is highlighted by his failure to back this bill, while featuring wind turbines in his ads.

John McCain and Michigan Rep. Fred Upton listen to an explanation of the function of the power plant turbine during a tour of the Enrico Femi Nuclear Plant last week.
John McCain and Michigan Rep. Fred Upton listen to an explanation of the function of the power plant turbine during a tour of the Enrico Femi Nuclear Plant last week.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Wind turbines at the Horse Hollow Wind Energy Project in rural Taylor County in Texas.
Wind turbines at the Horse Hollow Wind Energy Project in rural Taylor County in Texas.   (AP Photo/LM Otero)
John McCain ponders a question from a member of the audience during a town hall meeting, yesterday in Pennsylvania.
John McCain ponders a question from a member of the audience during a town hall meeting, yesterday in Pennsylvania.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
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