Obama gives candid answers, paper lays 'em out

Sen. Barack Obama answered questions "quite candidly" during his visit last night to Beckley, W.Va., in the heart of the Appalachian coalfield, reports Audrey Stanton of the local Register-Herald. And the Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. daily in the town of 17,000 did right by the issues, devoting more than 1,200 words to Obama's give-and-take on tough topics such as coal. (Photo by Rick Barbero, Register-Herald)

"When Nelson Staples of Beckley asked him how he planned to lower the cost of gasoline in the United States, Obama responded with an answer that included investing in alternative fuel research, investing in refinery capacities, having a more sensible policy in the Middle East, strengthening the value of the dollar by improving the economy, charging polluters and creating more fuel-efficient vehicles in the United States," Stanton reports, continuing with dialogue:

When Nelson Staples of Beckley asked him how he planned to lower the cost of gasoline in the United States, Obama responded with an answer that included investing in alternative fuel research, investing in refinery capacities, having a more sensible policy in the Middle East, strengthening the value of the dollar by improving the economy, charging polluters and creating more fuel-efficient vehicles in the United States.

“But the hard truth is, the only way to, in the long term, reduce gas prices is to reduce demand,” Obama said.

“ ... So, in the meantime, what kind of car do you drive?” he asked Staples.

The laughter from those sitting around the Beckley resident gave him away even before he answered: “An Escalade.”

Obama shrugged his shoulders and widened his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Obama said, “but this is what I’m talking about right here.”

As for the really big energy question in West Virginia, the future of coal, a man from Fayetteville "asked Obama how he could help the state strike a balance between the environmental damage caused by the coal and logging industries and the environmental concerns of eco-tourism."

“The truth is, we don’t have perfect energy sources,” Obama said, adding that even though he supports wind energy, he is aware windmills threaten migratory birds. “Every source of energy has some problems. .... There are ways of removing coal that work well ... in a way that does not degrade the environment. But there are other companies tearing stuff up. The key for us has to be to work with those companies that are engaging in the best practices and understanding that over time everybody has an investment in the environment of West Virginia. ... But we have to do it in a way that does not completely eliminate the industry that provides a livelihood for a lot of people. We have to make a transition to clean energies, but it’s not going to happen overnight.”

As for longstanding questions about coal-mine safety, raised by the son of a Beckley coal miner:

“Coal mining remains one of the most dangerous occupations there is,” Obama said. “I want to do everything that’s needed to improve coal mine safety.” Obama said he planned to meet with Sens. Jay Rockefeller and Robert C. Byrd, both D-W.Va., to make sure the necessary safety measures are in place to ensure the safety of miners.

Obama also pledged "strong enforcement" of the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, in replying to a questiomner who said a coal mine had polluted a stream near his home. There's not much analysis in Stanton's story, but a lot of quotes and facts; to read it, click here.

The day before, Obama told Jim Morrill of The Charlotte Observer that some of the manufacturing jobs lost in North Carolina "just aren't coming back." When Morrill asked him where the new jobs would come from, Obama said laid-off factory workers could get construction jobs improving infrastructure, such as "broadband lines, for example, that can help stitch rural communities into the Internet. … We can put people back to work building windmills; that takes a lot of steel." The video of the interview appears to have been taken down, but the Observer offers an edited transcript.