In his first interview since winning the presidency, Barack Obama sat down for a lengthy discussion with Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes that was broadcast nationwide Sunday night. Among the many topics the President-elect spoke about were the country’s addiction to foreign oil and the longstanding American habit of not developing and implementing an energy plan. A key portion of their conversation follows:
(CBS) Kroft: When the price of oil was at $147 a barrel, there were a lot of spirited and profitable discussions that were held on energy independence. Now you’ve got the price of oil under $60.
Mr. Obama: Right.
Kroft: Does doing something about energy is it less important now than…
Mr. Obama: It’s more important. It may be a little harder politically, but it’s more important.
Kroft: Why?
Mr. Obama: Well, because this has been our pattern. We go from shock to trance. You know, oil prices go up, gas prices at the pump go up, everybody goes into a flurry of activity. And then the prices go back down and suddenly we act like it’s not important, and we start, you know filling up our SUVs again.
And, as a consequence, we never make any progress. It’s part of the addiction, all right. That has to be broken. Now is the time to break it.
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CLICK HERE TO READ OR WATCH THE INTERVIEW.