Published: August 01, 2008 02:43 pm            

In Your View — 08/04/08

Carter was right about energy

During his presidency, Jimmy Carter called on citizens to sacrifice and to conserve energy. In the 1980 race for president, I remember candidate Ronald Reagan telling the American people we don’t have to sacrifice.

We haven’t had a president since Carter, over 28 years ago, who has had the smarts and courage to lead the country down the correct energy path. Today, we are paying serious consequences for that failure.

Republicans like to make fun of former President Carter and say he was a terrible president, but Carter was right about energy and his legacy looks better as time passes.

What I can’t understand is how the George W. Bush administration got away with holding the secret Dick Cheney Energy Task Force meetings which began soon after Bush took office.

Why were those meetings secret? Why did the media and the Democrats not push hard to find out what went on in those meetings?

In this year's presidential race and congressional races, Democrats should keep hammering away and make an issue out of the secret energy meetings.

We deserve to know what the Bush administration wants to hide.

Senator Mitch McConnell blames Democrats for the high gas prices. He is banking on his spouting the party line of “domestic drilling” to win re-election in November.

Does Senator McConnell, a staunch supporter of Bush energy and economic policies for the past eight years, know what took place in the secret energy meetings?

If not, why has he been too timid to find out and let Kentuckians know. At least, he might be able to let us know why the meetings were secret.

The media and Democrats should begin asking probing questions on the matter until we, the people, so affected by the high cost of energy, get an answer.

Paul L. Whiteley Sr., Louisville

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.