Question

from October 16, 2012 Presidential Debate
President Barak Obama

(In 2012, President Barak Obama was running for reelection against Former Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney. The following is an answer President Obama gave to the question: Your energy secretary, Steven Chu, has now been on record three times stating it's not policy of his department to help lower gas prices. Do you agree with Secretary Chu that this is not the job of the Energy Department?)

The most important thing we can do is to make sure we control our own energy. So here's what I've done since I've been president. We have increased oil production to the highest levels in 16 years.
Natural gas production is the highest it's been in decades. We have seen increases in coal production and coal employment. But what I've also said is we can't just produce traditional source of energy. We've also got to look to the future. That's why we doubled fuel efficiency standards on cars. That means that in the middle of the next decade, any car you buy, you're going to end up going twice as far on a gallon of gas. That's why we doubled clean— clean energy production like wind and solar and biofuels.
And all these things have contributed to us lowering our oil imports to the lowest levels in 16 years. Now, I want to build on that. And that means, yes, we still continue to open up new areas for drilling. We continue to make it a priority for us to go after natural gas. We've got potentially 600,000 jobs and 100 years' worth of energy right beneath our feet with natural gas.
And we can do it in an environmentally sound way. But we've also got to continue to figure out how we have efficiency energy, because ultimately that's how we're going to reduce demand and that's what's going to keep gas prices lower.
Now, Governor Romney will say he's got an all-of-the-above plan, but basically his plan is to let the oil companies write the energy policies. So he's got the oil and gas part, but he doesn't have the clean energy part. And if we are only thinking about tomorrow or the next day and not thinking about 10 years from now, we're not going to control our own economic future. Because China, Germany, they're making these investments. And I'm not going to cede those jobs of the future to those countries. I expect those new energy sources to be built right here in the United States.

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What is President Obama's point of view in this passage? Analyze how he develops his point of view and how he addresses conflicting viewpoints. Use details from the speech to support your answer.

Answer 1

President Obama’s point of view is that the United States should pursue an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy that combines increased domestic production of oil, gas, and coal with strong investments in energy efficiency and clean energy so the country can control its own energy future, create jobs, and reduce dependence on foreign oil. He argues that short-term fixes are insufficient; the Energy Department’s role is to shape policies that lower demand and build long-term energy security rather than simply respond to immediate price swings.

He develops this view by citing concrete accomplishments and policies as evidence: oil production is “the highest levels in 16 years,” natural gas production is the highest in decades, clean energy production has been doubled, and fuel-efficiency standards for cars have been doubled so future cars will “go twice as far on a gallon of gas.” He links these measures to measurable outcomes — lower oil imports (the lowest in 16 years) and the potential for hundreds of thousands of jobs from natural gas — to show that the strategy is already producing results.

Obama also addresses competing viewpoints directly. He acknowledges the pro-drilling argument by saying the administration will “continue to open up new areas for drilling” and pursue natural gas, arguing it can be done “in an environmentally sound way,” which appeals to voters who favor increased domestic production. At the same time he criticizes Governor Romney’s approach as essentially letting “the oil companies write the energy policies,” asserting Romney lacks a clean-energy component and is focused only on near-term solutions. In response to the notion (attributed to Secretary Chu) that the Energy Department shouldn’t be expected to lower gas prices immediately, Obama reframes the Department’s responsibility: its job is to reduce demand and invest in future technologies that will “keep gas prices lower” over the long term.

Rhetorically, Obama uses specific data, contrasts (his record and long-term plan versus Romney’s short-term, industry-driven plan), appeals to economic competitiveness (not ceding jobs to China and Germany), and appeals to practical outcomes (jobs, lower imports, greater efficiency) to make his case and to counter opposing views.