Barack Obama

Rahm Emanuel: First Obama priority is stimulus via green infrastructure

Incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, speaking to a gathering of CEOs and other business leaders: Mr. Emanuel promised that a major economic stimulus would be "the first order of business" for Mr. Obama when he takes office Jan. 20. The focus of spending will be on infrastructure, specifically "green infrastructure," which he said would […]

Obama hits green home run in remarks to govs on clean energy and climate

Much like Al Gore’s surprise appearance at Netroots Nation this summer (which seems like eons ago at this point), I am told that President-elect Barack Obama’s taped message to the Bi-Partisan Governor’s Global Climate Summit was met with thunderous applause and a standing ovation. President-elect Obama’s remarks should quiet any remaining suspicions that his campaign […]

Substance-less video leaves us wondering, ‘Why bother?’

The Obama transition today released a video showing the energy and environmental policy team “at work,” focusing on former EPA administrator Carol Browner, who’s advising the transition, and Heather Zichal, who also headed up these issues for the campaign. While the video seems to offer a “behind the scenes” feel (the experts are shown sitting […]

Obama affirms commitment to climate change, but won’t be going to Poland

Barack Obama won’t be attending the next round of international climate talks next month in Poland, nor is he in Los Angeles today for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s conference on climate change. But the president-elect insists that his administration will be a leader in the effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions. “While I won’t be president […]

Harper proposes joint climate pact that would protect Alberta oil sands

The Globe and Mail reported last week: Less than 24 hours after the election of Barack Obama, Canadian cabinet ministers begin calling for a pact that would keep emissions down while protecting Alberta’s oil sands projects This is Canada’s version of “Two tens for a five?” Seriously, Canada, just a couple of days into his […]

Newsweek considers an Obama baby boom

Newsweek gets the headline of the week award as it ponders the possibility of an post-election baby boom: Hope and euphoria, says University of Washington sociologist Pepper Schwartz, are a serious aphrodisiac. And voters under 30 went for Obama by a margin of 2 to 1. When you combine those two elements — randy people […]

Obama and McCain make nice and possibly talk climate and energy

Obama and McCain got together this morning in Chicago for their first post-election meeting, in which they discussed what they could work on together going forward. As many noted prior to the meeting, it’s likely that climate change and energy concerns came up, as Obama had said on the campaign trail that these might be […]

Will Democrats take the votes but ignore the voters in increasingly powerful Northern Virginia?

Northern Virginia voters solidified their reputation Nov. 4 as a virtual factory for Democratic victories. Collectively, the Virginia suburbs of D.C. broke for Obama in numbers exceeding 60 percent. The margin is comparable to such liberal bastions as California and New York. Given the results, and given that 1 in 3 Virginia voters now lives […]

Obama talks energy on 60 Minutes

President-elect Obama was interviewed on 60 Minutes last night about the election and how he is preparing for the presidency. Obama noted early in the conversation that he’s “talking to top economic advisers about how we’re gonna create jobs, how we get the economy back on track and what do we do in terms of […]