Big Gov.: Obama would “never” discuss his “true agenda” in Oval Office address

Big Government: "[W]hen it's 'just us,' he has no problem divulging his true agenda." In a June 23 post headlined “Obama's Radical Agenda Revealed,” Larry O'Connor wrote:

Organizing for America (formerly known as Obama for America) is the new organized [sic] group that President Obama is using to push his agenda on America. This group is so well organized it makes you wonder if President Obama should have hired the people who run it to take care of the BP oil spill.

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The latest string of emails sent out by OFA have been talking points about renewable energy and the BP oils pill. [sic] The latest of these solicitations had a video address embedded in an email from the President specifically asking for OFA's support to “rebuild our nation's economy on a new foundation” of renewable energy. He tells OFA members that we must “seize this moment,” to pass comprehensive energy reform or we will “miss our chance.” It appears that President Obama would never say something like this in a Presidential address from the oval office but when it's “just us,” he has no problem divulging his true agenda.

Obama discussed exact same “agenda” in Oval Office address

Obama talked about the need to “seize the moment” and said “the time to embrace a clean energy future is now” in address from the Oval Office. In his Oval Office address, Obama used language strikingly similar to the comments cited by Big Government as “divulging his true agenda.” Obama said, “The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now.” Obama went on to discuss a “transition away from fossil fuels” that would require “jumpstart[ing] the clean energy industry” and “discovering clean energy technologies that someday will lead to entire new industries.” Obama further discussed the need to “seize the moment.”

From the Organizing for America video cited by Big Government:

OBAMA: But if we're honest with ourselves, we must also recognize that the days of cheap and easily accessible oil are numbered, and the costs and risks associated with our addiction to fossil fuels are not going away. The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean-energy future is now.

That's why, in the coming days, I will work with both parties to find the necessary votes to move comprehensive energy and climate legislation forward. But we also know that real change is only possible when ordinary Americans are willing to organize from the bottom up. The pundits may say that this is too difficult -- that the special interests are too powerful, or that the political will just isn't there. But you've never settled for what people in Washington believe is possible.

If we refuse to heed the warning of this disaster, we will have missed our best chance to help build the clean-energy future America needs. But if we seize this moment, we can rebuild our economy on a new foundation and make it more competitive in the 21^st century, creating entire new industries and millions of new clean energy jobs all across the country.

That's why I'm asking you to stand with me today, add your name, and show your support for a clean-energy future. Together we can make it happen.

From Obama's June 15 Oval Office address:

The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now. Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America's innovation and seize control of our own destiny.

This is not some distant vision for America. The transition away from fossil fuels is going to take some time, but over the last year and a half, we've already taken unprecedented action to jumpstart the clean energy industry. As we speak, old factories are reopening to produce wind turbines, people are going back to work installing energy-efficient windows, and small businesses are making solar panels. Consumers are buying more efficient cars and trucks, and families are making their homes more energy-efficient. Scientists and researchers are discovering clean energy technologies that someday will lead to entire new industries.

Each of us has a part to play in a new future that will benefit all of us. As we recover from this recession, the transition to clean energy has the potential to grow our economy and create millions of jobs -- but only if we accelerate that transition. Only if we seize the moment. And only if we rally together and act as one nation -- workers and entrepreneurs; scientists and citizens; the public and private sectors.

When I was a candidate for this office, I laid out a set of principles that would move our country towards energy independence. Last year, the House of Representatives acted on these principles by passing a strong and comprehensive energy and climate bill -- a bill that finally makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy for America's businesses.

Now, there are costs associated with this transition. And there are some who believe that we can't afford those costs right now. I say we can't afford not to change how we produce and use energy -- because the long-term costs to our economy, our national security, and our environment are far greater.

So I'm happy to look at other ideas and approaches from either party -- as long they seriously tackle our addiction to fossil fuels. Some have suggested raising efficiency standards in our buildings like we did in our cars and trucks. Some believe we should set standards to ensure that more of our electricity comes from wind and solar power. Others wonder why the energy industry only spends a fraction of what the high-tech industry does on research and development -- and want to rapidly boost our investments in such research and development.

All of these approaches have merit, and deserve a fair hearing in the months ahead. But the one approach I will not accept is inaction. The one answer I will not settle for is the idea that this challenge is somehow too big and too difficult to meet. You know, the same thing was said about our ability to produce enough planes and tanks in World War II. The same thing was said about our ability to harness the science and technology to land a man safely on the surface of the moon. And yet, time and again, we have refused to settle for the paltry limits of conventional wisdom. Instead, what has defined us as a nation since our founding is the capacity to shape our destiny -- our determination to fight for the America we want for our children. Even if we're unsure exactly what that looks like. Even if we don't yet know precisely how we're going to get there. We know we'll get there.

It's a faith in the future that sustains us as a people. It is that same faith that sustains our neighbors in the Gulf right now.