One of the catch-phrases President Obama didn't use in his much parsed Oval Office speech on Tuesday was energy security. He did, however, make a glancing, split-second reference when discussing the costs associated with a transition from fossil fuels to a clean energy economy (emphasis added):
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.
Obama's reluctance to mention energy security in his speech strikes me as odd, considering how the term has become a central plank in his Administration's energy policy and also a popular new Democratic talking point, which Michael Levi, an energy expert, notes in this recent Foreign Policy piece:
That two-word phrase -- "energy security" -- is an idea invoked ...
