John McCain's weekly radio address

In his weekly radio address this morning, John McCain spoke about about Barack Obama's multiple positions on the Iraq surge. He also returned to the topic of the high cost of energy.

I spent the past week in Maine, Upstate New York, New Hampshire, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Colorado. And I spoke with voters about how to get the American economy running at full strength again. We need to stay focused on creating jobs for our people, and protecting paychecks from the rising costs of food, gasoline, and most everything else. Above all, we need to get a handle on the cost of oil and gasoline, and to regain energy independence for America.

In Maine, eight out of ten homes use heating oil. And with the cost of that fuel approaching $5 per gallon, many families will have to spend a thousand dollars or more every time they fill their tank, just to keep warm this winter. This is just one example of the troubles Americans face. And for our truckers, farmers, and taxi drivers, the need for relief is just as great.

Yet even now, with the price of gasoline at four dollars or more per gallon, the Congress has done exactly nothing to suspend the federal gas tax. Incredibly, some in Congress are actually in favor of raising the gas tax by another ten cents per gallon. And Senator Obama has proposed a windfall profits tax on oil that could simply be passed on to consumers, raising prices at the pump even more. My energy plan will save Americans money at the pump in the best possible way -- by not taking it away in the first place.

We also need to act right now to increase America's own energy production. Last week, the President finally lifted the executive ban on offshore oil and gas exploration, and called on Congress to lift its ban as well. The Congress now has the sole power to lift the ban, but so far they just can't be bothered to get around to it. Lifting that ban would seriously lower the price of oil -- and Congress should get it done immediately. As a matter of fairness to the American people, we need to drill more, drill now, and pay less at the pump.

The mainstream media's comedic branch, including The Daily Show and Late Night With David Letterman, regularly lampoons McCain about his age. But this forward looking man has a goal of building 45 nuclear power plants by 2030.

McCain noted in his radio address that France, which Obama visited yesterday, gets 80 percent of its electricity from nuclear power.

Here's something I'm going to throw in the mix: Obama's Illinois has more nuclear power plants than any other state--and Illinoisans receive 45 percent of their electricity from nuclear power.

Technorati tags: politics election environment Democrats news Democrats Obama Barack Obama McCain John McCain Drill here, drill now energy economy nuclear energy France française