Energy | EPA | Agriculture | Interior | Climate Czar
The 2008 oil spike proved how politically potent energy issues can be. A President McCain might seek to demonstrate a firm hand by appointing a top White House official to coordinate administration policy on energy, with climate change also tacked onto his or her portfolio.
James Woolsey.
James Woolsey
Jim Woolsey, the former CIA director turned climate-change and renewable-energy wonk, was hired by McCain during the primary season as a senior adviser on these issues. Some say he's the leading candidate for an energy czar job because he knows global politics so well and is a formidable advocate for domestic energy production as a security policy, not to mention for electric cars. Woolsey has already served under four U.S. presidents in a variety of roles. It would be interesting for the one-time head of the nation's secretive spy agency to sit down with world ministers to hammer out climate-change policy. "I'm sure he can disarm them," quipped one Republican strategist. (Read a Grist interview with Woolsey.)
Sarah Palin.
Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin, who has already said she'd like to handle the energy portfolio as vice president, might pull rank and keep the energy czar job for herself. Somebody needs to pick up where Dick Cheney left off, property-rights advocates and climate-change skeptics say. Environmentalists say not a chance. Palin has sued the federal government to stop listing of polar bears as an endangered species and pushed for more oil and gas drilling, among other moves. "I think Sarah Palin would be great," said Ebell of CEI.
Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is termed out as California governor in 2010, can't be president because he wasn't born in the United States, and is looking for greener pastures. He's got megawatt star power and hands-on experience crafting an ambitious climate plan.
"I can't think of a better energy czar than Arnold Schwarzenegger," said DiPeso of Republicans for Environmental Protection. He said that while the "Governator" could run for the Senate, "I don't think he'd be interested. He's the sort of guy who likes to be in charge. … The best job for the Terminator is to hold a high-level executive position. He's demonstrated an interest in the issue, and he's got the policy right. There wouldn't be any on-the-job training there. He's done the bipartisan cracking of heads and gotten people together."
Of course, AB 32 -- the California climate law -- has yet to be fully implemented, and Schwarzenegger's popularity has sunk amid the state's fiscal woes. Still, California and its toothsome governor could both be winners no matter who becomes president. Both McCain and Obama have said that unlike Bush, they would order a waiver granted to enable California to proceed with plans to regulate greenhouse gases from automobiles.
Curiously, Schwarzenegger hasn't visibly campaigned much for his good friend John McCain (though he's scheduled to hit the trail in Ohio this week on the GOP ticket's behalf). There's talk in Sacramento that the reason is that he'd love to be energy czar for someone else: Barack Obama. With his spouse's Kennedy clan connections (cue the Maria Shriver endorsement footage), he might be ready to pack his bags.
Schwarzenegger spokesperson Julie Soderlund laughed off all the talk, saying, "The Governor is 100 percent focused on California and meeting the challenges the state is facing right now. So at this point the governor is not looking beyond the immediate needs of the state." She said he had done half a dozen in-state appearances for McCain, and would stump for him in Ohio on Halloween. Also, his air board's plan for cutting greenhouse gases would give free permits to polluters, which McCain favors, rather than the 100 percent auction that Obama supports. Some environmentalists say while Schwarzenegger has taken bold action at times, he has also vetoed or stalled on key protections, mollifying large utilities and the heavily polluting shipping industry, for instance. Trick or treat, anyone?
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