McCain Touts Nuclear Energy
Republican presidential contender John McCain has toured the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Plant outside Detroit. McCain says nuclear power is needed to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. He has called for 45 new plants to be built by 2030.
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SCOTT HORSLEY: And I'm Scott Horsley with the McCain campaign. John McCain showcased his support for nuclear power today, visiting the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Plant in Newport, Michigan.
McCain has called for a crash program to build 45 more nuclear plants by the year 2030.
Senator JOHN McCAIN (Republican, Arizona; Presidential Candidate): And if we really want to enable technologies of tomorrow like plug-in electric cars, we need electricity to plug in to.
HORSLEY: McCain also criticized Barack Obama for his lukewarm support of nuclear power.
Sen. McCAIN: Senator Obama has said that expanding our nuclear power plants, quote, "doesn't make sense for America," unquote. He also says no to nuclear storage and no to reprocessing. I could not disagree more.
HORSLEY: In fact, the Illinois senator says nuclear plants are likely to be part of a nation's energy mix, but adds, a safe method of waste disposal is needed before additional plants are built.
McCain backs the Yucca Mountain waste disposal site in Nevada - another swing state. Obama has opposed it. Energy policy has become a major battleground for the two candidates, with McCain touting his drill-here-drill-now strategy, and Obama calling for big investments in alternatives such as wind and solar.
Neither of those strategies is likely to bring quick relief to drivers unhappy about high-priced gas this summer, so both candidates have tried to sweeten their offer - McCain with a summer gas tax holiday, Obama with energy rebate checks paid for with the tax on oil companies and the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
An editorial in today's Detroit News says both these plans appear to be governed by political calculation rather than solid economics. Editorial page editor Nolan Finley says his paper has been very critical of McCain's gas tax holiday, and Obama's proposals are equally shortsighted.
Mr. NOLAN FINLEY (Editorial Page Editor, Detroit News): It's too pandering. It makes absolutely no sense in terms of long-term energy policy.
HORSLEY: The McCain campaign happily distributed the Detroit News editorial today as if to say we know our guy's plan doesn't work, but the other guy's is just as bad.
Scott Horsley, NPR News, Newport, Michigan.
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