SOTU: The Inanity of “All of the Above”

President Obama did what some of us have counseled one should expect when the Republicans wedded themselves to the inane “all of the above” slogan to characterize or, alternately, substitute for an argument for fixing the woes caused by misguided government energy policies, programs and schemes: Namely, he used it to argue for more handouts to the welfare-case black holes like wind and solar which have been around since the ’60s—the 1860’s—and have received government supports for the past five decades.

That’s the problem with such slogans in lieu of educating and principle: “All of the above” is intended to be a blank slate on which voters can cast their own notions, yet it draws no line to exclude the inane, wasteful or outright economically destructive.

Sure, it implies more support for that which works, and the first rational step is for the federal government to cease its war on American energy *that works*. But it didn’t reveal the nerve to actually say it, to defend it.

And thus President Obama seized the slogan, saying last night that, “This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy, a strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper and full of new jobs.”

Just as putative Republican standard-bearer Mitt Romney faces circumstances and widespread calls to meet the challenge of defending larger principles over bromides, so should all Republicans who desire a rational energy policy but, to date, have not shown the nerve to demand one.