Transcripts

"Commentary"-Plugging Into The Energy Issue

SUSIE GHARIB: Tonight's commentator says there are plenty of reasons why energy independence should be a priority for the next president of the United States. He's Irving R. Levine, dean emeritus of international studies at Lynn University and former NBC news chief economics correspondent.

IRVING R. LEVINE, DEAN EMERITUS, INT'L. STUDIES, LYNN UNIVERSITY: The good news is that the price of oil is well off its peak of almost $150 a barrel earlier this year. The bad news is that it may be deja vu all over again. I remember back in 1973, when I had begun covering the economy for NBC News, Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries slapped an embargo on exports to the U.S. The price of oil climbed from what now seems like a ludicrous $3-a-barrel to $11. President Nixon responded by announcing project independence to make the U.S. energy independent by 1980. The oil embargo soon ended and so did project independence. During the past 40 years under successive presidents, energy crises have struck time and again. Each time the crisis passed and so did any sense of urgency. What is different this time is that a growing number of nations, particularly China and India, have begun competing with the United States for limited supplies of oil. That means that this crisis may be permanent, not fleeting. And moving toward a measure of energy independence becomes a top priority for the next president. I am Irving R. Levine.