Barack Obama

A few days before the election, Barack Obama told Time magazine's Joe Klein:

"Finding the new driver of our economy is going to be critical. There's no better driver that pervades all aspects of our economy than a new energy economy ... That's going to be my No. 1 priority when I get into office."

That's exactly the right choice for numerous economic, geopolitical and ecological reasons. By spawning "a new energy economy," Obama can create millions of new jobs, decrease our dependence on foreign oil and avert catastrophic climate change. But the politics of launching that new energy economy -- even with enlarged majorities in Congress -- remains challenging.

In facing this challenge, Obama will be constrained both by a gargantuan budget deficit and his campaign vow not to raise taxes on anyone earning under $250,000 a year. And because of the recession, he can't suck buying power out of the economy. On the contrary, he needs to stimulate spending by consumers.

He also faces a tight international timetable: in December 2009, the nations of the world will assemble in Copenhagen to negotiate a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. If Obama is to have any credibility in those negotiations, he must pass significant legislation before then.

How, then, can he fulfill his No. 1 priority?

The support of voters age 18-29 may have been decisive in Barack Obama's presidential election victory this Tuesday, according to estimates from The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).

CIRCLE projections show both an increase in the percentage of young voters among overall voters -- young voters representing 18 percent of the total voter tally, up from 17 percent in 2004 -- and that young voters overwhelmingly preferred Obama. Obama, who received a projected 52 percent of the total popular vote, received 66 percent of the under-30 vote. In 2004, by comparison, John Kerry received 48.1 percent of the popular vote and 54 percent of the under-30 vote.

John Della Volpe, the director of polling for the Harvard Institute of Politics, estimates Obama won the youth vote by 8.3 or 8.4 million -- and the overall popular vote by about 8 million. "Young people, no question, were the driving force behind this election," he told MSNBC.

No doubt key to these young voters was Obama's relative strength on environmental issues when compared to John McCain. A report in The Washington Independent on Monday observed that the concerns of young voters largely mirror the concerns of their elders -- going into the election, the economy was for them an issue of paramount importance. Yet:

The environment is the major exception for youth voters, according to Carroll Doherty, the associate director at the Pew Research Center. In an October poll, 64 percent of voters under age 30 said the environment is “very important,” compared to 55 percent of older voters.

“At a time when there is so much convergence in priorities,” Doherty said, “that is a noticeable, significant difference.”

He attributes the difference to greater environmental consciousness among young people. For example, young people are more concerned about human effects on global warming than any other age group, according to an April Pew poll.

As we headed to the polls, the economy, the environment and our collective common sense told us the old ways were not working. The stumbling financial markets show the consequences of unfettered pursuit of profits in a system that has no debits on the ledger for environmental degradation and no credits for a social conscience. The troubled climate is bringing home the cost of fouling the air and abusing fragile ecosystems. And inequitable use of resources is widening the gap between rich and poor.

Now that we know Barack Obama will become the 44th President of the United States, we can turn to the next critical question of national leadership: In this historic moment, how bold will President Obama be?

It was Candidate Obama who introduced the theme of change to the 2008 campaign, and it proved so powerful among voters that the other leading candidates quickly adopted it. It’s a cliché for candidates to run against the status quo in Washington, no matter how long they’ve been there. But in 2008, Obama seems to grasp that “change” has a much deeper meaning.

When voters turn out for tomorrow's election, Barack Obama will have the support of a perhaps unexpected contingency: outdoor sportsmen, from Virginia to Montana, who are concerned about the future of the woods where they hunt and the lakes and rivers where they fish.

The 2008 Democratic National Convention kicked off yesterday with throngs of delegates descending on Denver and a firm party commitment to embrace Barack Obama’s election plank -- energy and climate policies included.

ENS parses the green details here, while the Wall Street Journal clears the air on Obama and cap-and-trade legislation: if elected, expect it to be President Obama's #1 economic priority.

As predicted, aspiring First Lady Michelle Obama and ailing Senator Ted Kennedy stole the Day 1 show with electrifying, homerun speeches, earning near-unanimous media praise. (Read the transcript of Obama's speech here and Kennedy's here. Videos of both follow the post.)

Among the other first impressions to emerge, here's one of the most prevalent: ExxonMobil, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity and the whole clean coal lie are "everywhere."

Barack Obama unveiled his energy plan in Lansing today, the capital of the state of Michigan, primary home of the US auto industry.

There are two elements in particular of Obama's energy plan that deserve special attention for the healing touch they apply: to combat vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and to the ailing US auto industry.

And lord knows they -- and this nation -- need a healing touch.