Energy lights debate

Deep in Texas-tea territory last week, Sen. John McCain lambasted his presidential rival for his stance on what to do about the nation’s energy crisis.

The GOP candidate criticized Barack Obama’s plan to tax the profits of oil companies, reminding a Houston crowd of how former President Jimmy Carter had employed that method. He quipped that he favored recycling, but said “it’s better applied to paper and plastic than to the failed policies of the 1970s.”

McCain’s plan to lift a ban on domestic oil and natural-gas drilling off the coast went over well with the historic oil region, according to The Washington Post. In response, Obama released a statement saying it would take at least 10 years to produce any oil and that the plan is short-sighted.