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Obama risking political fate in continuing to support nuclear?

After the Japanese nuclear disaster, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party lost a huge upset in that country’s election over her support for nuclear power. Is Obama running the same risk? Death and Taxes By Alex Moore   March 30, 2011

President Obama gave a major speech on energy today at Georgetown University. His message, while nothing new, appears to have have some fresh political potency given the context of world events that surrounds it: Obama reiterated his support for energy independence, and set a goal to reduce dependence on foreign oil by one third by 2025, bolstered by domestic production of alternative energy—including nuclear power.

Though he didn’t mention either of them overtly, two world events underlaid the speech, flanking it like two giant red flags: Japan’s recent nuclear meltdown on one side, and America’s participation in the air strikes in Libya on the other.

In the wake of Japan’s earthquake and nuclear crisis, fears spread rapidly concerning the dangers of nuclear power. People panicked that California would get pummeled with fallout, and in Europe “The Simpsons” edited out any jokes about Homer’s ineptitude at the nuclear power plant. Yesterday in Germany, Chancellor Merkel’s party suffered a major upset to the Green Party, who won on a platform opposing nuclear power. The German election was largely a referendum on nuclear power, and it no doubt sent a clear message to the Chancellor.

So it might have been easier this morning for Obama to distance himself form nuclear power, or simply omit the issue from his speech. Instead, he chose to stand his ground.  From the AP:

He embraced nuclear power as part of America’s energy future… Obama said he is determined to ensure that nuclear plants in the U.S. are safe, and has ordered a safety review of all facilities that will incorporate lessons learned from the crisis in Japan.

March 31, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general