Democrats try energy issue to trump Bush

Democratic presidential candidates are focusing on energy policy as a top issue in the 2004 campaign, in an effort to sharpen environmental credentials and stake out contrasting positions with President Bush.

With White House hopefuls rolling out position papers on matters from healthcare to taxes, candidates are highlighting the need to wean the US from foreign oil, calling for sharp reductions in the use of fossil fuels and the development of alternative, clean energy sources. Many are framing their proposals as new scientific quests, with vast potential: This week, Rep. Dick Gephardt outlined his "New Apollo Project," following Sen. John Kerry's "New Manhattan Project" and Sen. Joseph Lieberman's "Declaration of Energy Independence."

Polls show Democrats enjoy a big advantage over Republicans on environmental issues - but that those issues tend to rank fairly low on the public's list of priorities. But energy policy may prove an exception because of its link to the war on terror: Reducing US dependence on Middle Eastern oil can now be seen as a matter of national security.

Congressman Gephardt made this link in his speech Tuesday, saying, "Profits from Saudi oil families literally helped to fund the ungodly attacks on Sept. 11." Similarly, Senator Kerry last week declared: "If we care about the national security of America, we can settle for nothing less than the energy security of America."

Still, analysts say Democrats may have trouble getting much momentum on the issue, since the president has been stressing the need for energy independence, as well. There are clear differences in approach: Mr. Bush's solution focuses primarily on ramping up domestic production of oil, gas, and coal. But he also encourages conservation, and promotes some new technologies, such as hydrogen-fueled cars. As a result, Democrats will have to persuade the public not only of the overall importance of energy independence, but of the relative environmental and societal benefits of their plans.

"Both parties will try to tie energy policies to international threats and terrorism," says William Lowry, an expert on environmental politics at St. Louis's Washington University. But while "they may have the same diagnosis, they draw very different prescriptions."

Politicians have tried to address energy policy for decades with little success, say analysts, in part because of the power of conflicting interest groups.

The first Persian Gulf War raised similar national discussions about US reliance on Middle Eastern oil, and even led to a new Energy Policy Act in Congress. "But it didn't really change our fundamental reliance on fossil fuels for energy needs," says Mr. Lowry.

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