I'm watching Schwarzenegger on This Week with George Snuffleupagus and he's talking quite passionately about energy policy. I don't have it YouTube, so I'll transcribe what he said:
Ahnold: I have no interest in off-shore drilling off California. People can do it wherever they want...[McCain] can give us the rights to drill offshore but we will say "No thanks, we will not drill because we want to protect our coasts.
Snuffleupagus: That's more important than bringing down the price of gas, bringing down the price of oil?
Ahnold: First of all, let me tell you, anyone who tells you drilling, nuclear power, alternative fuel, fuel cells will bring down the price right now is pulling wool over your eyes because we know that will all take at least 10 years. But it doesn't mean we shouldn't do those things. The problem in America is not that we don't have ideas. It's that we aren't consistent. Jimmy Carter in the late '70s came in with a great energy policy. He talked about (couldn't make this out ), tax credits for people investing in windmills, and all those things. And then President Reagan came in and scrapped the whole thing because oil prices came down and said it didn't make sense financially. Well, many countries all over the world stayed with the program even though oil prices came down. In Germany, with solar, they've been working on it for 30 years and they are number one in solar. I think that is what we need to do. We need to stay the course. We got to go and stay, "Here's the plan: here's how we get energy independent. We need renewables, we need nuclear power, we need alternative fuels. All of those kind of things. Let's do research. Let's never go off course, no matter who the administration is or no matter what the oil prices. Let's stay on course. That's the big problem in America.
Snuffleupagus: You know, Barack Obama hears you talk about energy. He hears you talk about the environment. He says, "Maybe he should be in my cabinet."
Then George runs a video of Obama praising Schwarzenegger's leadership on energy and the environment. George says Newsweek reported that Obama might like Schwarzenegger to be his energy and environment Czar. When George asks Schwarzenegger if he would serve in such a capacity, he does not rule it out.
I think Schwarzenegger as Obama's Energy and Environment Czar - the one person who help shape, drive, coordinate, and implement direction at the Energy Department and EPA - would be great. Obama wants Republicans in his cabinet and where better to have one than in an area where other Republicans are reluctant to back Democratic initiatives. Plus Ahnold's star power could give these ideas a certain glamour. And his stewardship of California will give him the heft to rally the country to back these initiatives. And of course, it will help to have Maria by Ahnold's side.