Energy news this week was kicked off by President Obama’s address to the nation on the Gulf oil spill Tuesday night.  The response was less than a ringing endorsement from either the left or the right, which is how Gerald Seib kicks off his “Capital Journal” column in today’s Wall Street Journal:

“It’s fair to say that President Barack Obama’s speech to the nation on the oil spill this week didn’t exactly get rave reviews.”

Seib goes on to discuss one issue the president didn’t mention:

“Perhaps, though, the president should have uttered two words: electric cars.”

“In short, perhaps electric vehicles are something both parties can agree to ride into a new and brighter energy future.

“Already, similar bills are pending in both houses of Congress to push electric cars, and they have bipartisan support from real, live Democrats and Republicans. A blue-ribbon group of corporate leaders has formed to push the bills; they also are backed by retired military leaders who see electric cars as a way to ease the national-security concerns of dependence on Mideast oil.”

Seib isn’t the only one pushing for electric vehicles in the press.  The bipartisan cosponsors of the Senate’s electrification bill—Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR)—took to the pages of the Detroit Free Press on Thursday: “If ever there was a time to rethink our energy future, and especially America’s heavy dependence on foreign oil, now is that time. Here’s one way to dramatically reduce our oil consumption: Electrify half our cars and trucks.”

Of course, electrification was not the only such idea making its way into the headlines this week. In the Washington Post, Senators Maria Cantwell and Susan Collins push for their legislation, the Clear Act: “Instead of cap-and-trade, our approach is ‘cap-and-dividend,’ with the dividends going where they belong: into the pockets of hardworking Americans.”  Avoiding the ‘cap-and-trade’ label seems crucial.  Sen. Dorgan made it clear early in the week that there aren’t 60 votes in the Senate for cap-and-trade.  The question might be whether that threshold can be reached for any legislation that centers around a price on carbon.

So what happens now?  Next week, the Senate Energy Committee will be holding a legislative hearing on electrification legislation.  In the meantime, The Hill on Wednesday reported that the White House will host a bipartisan energy meeting next week.  We hope that the administration sits down with both Democrats and Republicans with an open mind, following up on the promise that the president made on Tuesday: to listen to “ideas and approaches from either party – as long they seriously tackle our addiction to fossil fuels.”

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