WASHINGTON — If Barack Obama and John McCain agree on nothing else, they agree that one of the nation's most urgent challenges is curbing its dependence on foreign oil and addressing the energy-related problem of global warming.
Indeed, when it comes to energy, the two major-party presidential candidates are embracing so many of the same points that it can be hard to tell whether there's any real difference between them.
From offshore oil drilling and nuclear power to windmills and electric cars, there's hardly a serious idea to which both haven't given at least a qualified nod.
Yet beneath the talking points and sound bites, there are significant differences in how Obama and McCain would be likely to approach a problem that's haunted the nation for more than three decades -- differences that boil down to priorities.
Although both say they are open to almost the entire spectrum of energy options, no chief executive has enough time or political capital to do everything. What the next president chooses to push first and hardest will probably define what's eventually achieved. Other energy options will almost certainly move to the back burner.
Viewed through this prism, the differences between McCain and Obama begin to come into focus.
What the Republican standard-bearer has talked about most and would presumably make his top priorities are drilling for oil in U.S. coastal waters and moving to bring 45 more nuclear power plants online by 2030.
Moreover, to achieve both goals, McCain would rely heavily on the private sector and on technologies that already exist -- not on things that still must be invented or undergo extensive development.
As McCain says of nuclear plants, "If France can produce 80% of its electricity with nuclear power, why can't we?"
Offshore oil-drilling techniques are also well advanced.
For Democratic rival Obama, the primary emphasis is on leapfrogging ahead to a dramatically reshaped economy that uses energy more efficiently, relies more on renewable power sources such as wind, and goes all-out to develop clean coal and plug-in cars.
To achieve those goals, the government should play a leading role, Obama says, spending $150 billion in federal funds over the next 10 years "to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future," as his energy plan puts it.
