Obama qualifies his support for coal-to-liquid fuel

Illinois senator and presidential hopeful Barack Obama (D) has qualified his support for coal — which is, you may recall, the enemy of the human race. In January, Obama cosponsored legislation to provide incentives for production of coal-to-liquid fuel. He was lambasted by enviros; influential advocacy group MoveOn.org waged a petition opposing the bill. And the public pressure seems to have worked: Yesterday, Obama sent an email to green groups that stated, “Senator Obama supports … investing in technology that could make coal a clean-burning source of energy. However, unless and until this technology is perfected, Senator Obama will not support the development of any coal-to-liquid fuels unless they emit at least 20 percent less life-cycle carbon than conventional fuels.” Was it a flip-flop? A clarification, as Obama aides claimed? Or the result of an environmentalist “jihad” against the industry, in the words of a Big Coal spokesflack? Regardless, many greens are back on the Obandwagon.