Weekly Roundup–Going Home Empty-Handed on Valentine’s?
Posted February 12, 2010 at 1:31 pm 
Filed in: Due to 2 recent blizzards, the federal government has been closed 4 of 5 days this week. This standstill may have delighted some fatigued government employees, but perhaps not incumbent members of Congress who are heading home for President’s Day recess with few accomplishments to speak of. And judging by the current, historic levels of voter angst, such a transgression might be met with the same surliness as coming home empty-handed on Valentine’s Day (which is Sunday, people).
Meanwhile, energy advocates continue to plead that, amongst the many outstanding big ticket agenda items, energy has the most bipartisan promise – and it’s one that certainly has a major bearing on America’s economic well-being.
Hopefully toward that end, Bloomberg Business Week reported that President Obama “really enjoyed talking” with FedEx founder and SAFE’s Energy Security Leadership Council Co-Chair Fred Smith at a February 4th White House luncheon. Obama said of Smith, “‘he’s an example of somebody who is thinking long term.”
“Obama, 48, said he has drawn on Smith’s views on trade and energy matters to ‘inform how we shape policy.’ Smith, Obama said, is ‘very thoughtful.’
“‘His industry is deeply sensitive to energy prices, and he’s the first one to say that if we don’t start getting an energy policy that’s smart, we’re going to lose in our competition,’ he said.”
Here’s the link to the full story: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-11/obama-admires-fedex-s-smith-among-ceos-who-advise-correct-.html
It’s a welcome, encouraging sign when the president is soliciting sage counsel from respected patriots, especially ones outside the Beltway bubble. For a long while, the conventional wisdom was such that it’d take a run-up in oil prices to compel action on energy legislation this election year. Perhaps a run-up in congressional disapproval ratings will suffice.
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