In the early 1950s, Detroit owned the automotive world. Cars were big, heavy, and fast! They had huge, monstrously powerful gas-guzzling engines. A visionary auto executive at the nearly bankrupt American Motors Corporation came up with an idea. He created the unthinkable — a compact American car. That visionary executive was George Romney and he coined the phrase "gas guzzling dinosaur." Romney became extremely successful and helped Rambler sell millions of cars. He then entered politics, became the Governor of Michigan and ran for President, unsuccessfully, in 1968

Fast forward about half a century — one of the sons of George Romney becomes governor of Massachusetts. Willard "Mitt" Romney serves one term as governor. But like his father before him, he holds higher aspirations.

In February of this year, Romney formally announced his candidacy for President. Given that he is no longer serving as governor, and that he has homes in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire, Romney has made more visits to New Hampshire than any other Republican candidate. Does familiarity breed contempt, as the old adage advises? Apparently not! In a recent NH poll, Romney garnered 27% of the Republican vote, to Rudy Giuliani’s 21% and John McCain’s 17%.

In April, Romney visited the border town of Salem, and I had an opportunity to ask him how, as President, he would make America energy independent. Romney stated, "America is too dependent on foreign oil." That statement is unarguable!

Romney continued, "We can use alternative sources of power. I support increasing our use of biodiesel, nuclear power and ethanol." Choosing his words carefully, Romney sandwiched his support for nuclear power between biodiesel and ethanol. I guess he thinks either we didn’t notice that, or that he thinks that by somehow associating nuclear power with biodiesel and ethanol, that makes it more palatable.

Romney concluded with, "We should also drill for more domestic oil in the Continental Shelf and in Alaska. Combine that with improving our energy efficiency and we will no longer be dependent on countries that are potentially hostile to us." Encouraging America to drill in ANWR seems to be part of all of the Republican candidates mantras. Seemingly to offend environmentalists everywhere, Romney also chose to include drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf as well. But his plea for energy efficiency is one that more candidates should embrace.

Digging deeper into Romney’s energy plans, we searched his website. What we found didn’t make us feel all "warm and fuzzy":

• Romney believes that coal is an important element of our future energy mix. He is hoping that "hybrid concepts," such as combining combustion and gasification of coal, will produce even cleaner and more efficient power generation.

• He wants America to invest in research and development of power generation and fuel technology.

• When asked if he supports increased CAFÉ standards, Romney demurred to pressure from his birth state of Michigan and opposed "raising CAFÉ standards on their own." However, he left open the door for support of raising these standards if they are "part of a broader energy plan."

What is missing from Romney’s so-called energy plan is a little thing called substance.

• What are his views on Cap-and-Trade?
• What about Carbon Sequestration?
• Does he believe that global warming is a serious issue?

There are more questions about Romney’s plans for making America energy independent than there are answers. While George Romney was a visionary leader but a failed politician, it appears that his son, Mitt, prefers to be a successful in politics and vision be damned!

Next week: Democratic Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut

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Mitt Romney for President

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