I watched Obama's speech last night...

...and although I thought his timing was off a little, I liked the content, especially the parts about health care and energy. Health care requires little comment from me. The U. S. spends more per capita, has a higher percentage of uninsured, and has worse outcomes than most other industrialized nations. Clearly, our system is in need of reform. If you don't believe me, ask any European or Japanese if he'd trade his health care system for ours.

Energy policy, in contrast, is much more open to debate. Free-marketeers, like the Wall Street Journal, would say that the U. S. does not need a national energy policy--let the markets decide. In theory I would agree. The problem is that we already have an energy policy. "What energy policy?," you might ask. "Where was I when they passed that?" I would argue that the U. S. has a de facto energy policy and it can be summed up in two words: cheap oil.

For about a century now the United States government has been backing oil to the exclusion of all other energy sources. This has involved supporting the automobile industry by building roads to far-flung suburbs and subsidizing ever larger homes through the tax code. And American foreign policy has ensured the free flow of oil from the Middle East by propping up friendly dictators and dispatching troops when necessary. This, along with U. S. support for Israel (another topic for another day), has gone a long way to creating the bitterness and resentment that has resulted in Islamic terrorism.

So where has our current energy policy gotten us? Two wars in the Middle East and a dangerous addiction to foreign oil. Not to mention what it's cost in lives, dollars, and reputation. How about pulling back from the Middle East and letting the price of oil find its true market level? Then maybe some alternative energy sources might make economic sense.

I'm with President Obama. We already have an energy policy, so let's stop debating that and start talking about what kind of energy policy we want.