Obama Uses Clean-Energy Pitch as Political Protection

President Barack Obama’s call for more investment in clean energy is also an effort to defuse gas prices as a potential campaign issue next year, the National Journal reports. With prices in some states climbing above $4 per gallon — dangerous territory for a sitting president — Obama has stepped up his pitch.

“The truth is, the only real solution to helping families at the pump in the medium and long term is clean energy,” he said on Tuesday in Virginia.

The president said that whenever the gas price reaches $4, “just like clockwork, you see politicians going in front of the cameras, and they say they have a three-point plan for two-buck-a-gallon gas.”

But he insisted that his plan is different.