Tom Vilsack

With love

Dear Tom Vilsack, Why did you tempt us with your progressive energy plan (PDF) and then turn your back on us so quickly? Sure, you had no chance of winning, but you could have at least pushed your energy agenda and greenhouse-gas reduction strategies a little longer, driving the debate among candidates who might actually […]

Grist interviews Vilsack; Vilsack quits presidential race

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) has added another "former" to his list of titles by withdrawing from the 2008 presidential race. But before he folded, citing financial concerns, Grist's Amanda Griscom Little interviewed Vilsack -- a vocal opponent of the Iraq war -- about his surprisingly aggressive energy plan [PDF], ethanol's future, and more.

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Other Democratic candidates, Sens. Obama and Clinton in particular, seem to be putting emphasis on energy and the environment as well. How do you think your record compares to theirs?

As governor of Iowa I was able to actually grow a renewable fuel industry in my state. We've dramatically increased ethanol production, dramatically increased wind production, through a creative use of strategies. I don't think any other candidate can actually point to that accomplishment.

What motivated you to come out with such a comprehensive energy proposal so early in the game?

Primarily the fact that energy security is the most important domestic issue facing the United States.  We've been talking about this challenge for decades, and it's time we get very serious about it.

This is a strategy not just to meet our energy needs in a way that's environmentally sound, but also to ensure that we never send young men and women to war over oil as we have in the past and we appear to be doing right now in Iraq.