Energy Returns as Major Issue

Barack Obama shakes hands at a town hall meeting at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio. Rival John McCain was campaigning in neighboring Michigan. (By Alex Brandon -- Associated Press)

Wearing a hard hat with earplugs attached, protective glasses and gloves, McCain toured the plant's control room and turbines, asking questions about safety and training.

But the visit raised questions about his repeated insistence that nuclear power is free from safety concerns. The first Fermi reactor -- located adjacent to the reactor McCain toured -- suffered a partial meltdown and was mothballed in 1972.

As he often does, McCain noted the U.S. Navy's experience with nuclear-powered ships and submarines, and his experience on the first such ship, the USS Enterprise. "I knew it was safe then, and I know it's safe now," he said.

In April, he said: "My friends, the United States Navy has sailed ships around the world for more than 50 years with nuclear power plants on them and we've never had a single accident."

But last week, the Navy reported that a nuclear-powered sub leaked tiny amounts of radioactive water as it navigated the globe. The Navy said the leak from the USS Houston was negligible.

"Safety is always a concern when it comes to power sources, but ultimately the perfect shouldn't be the enemy of the good, and nuclear power is an important part of John McCain's 'all of the above' approach to gaining energy independence," said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds.

McCain used the appearance at the nuclear plant to assert once again that Obama "says no" to the energy solutions the Republican is pushing, including increased exploration for oil and natural gas off the nation's coastlines.

"The fact is, we have to drill here and we have to drill now and we have to drill immediately," McCain said, repeating a now-common refrain. "I believe that it's vital that we move forward with that."

"Solving our national energy crisis requires an 'all of the above' approach," McCain said. "Senator Obama has said that expanding our nuclear power plants 'doesn't make sense for America.' He also says no to nuclear storage and reprocessing. I couldn't disagree more."

Obama aides, on the defensive in recent weeks as the McCain campaign has repeatedly described him as "Dr. No" on energy, emphasized Tuesday that their candidate backs the use of nuclear power, although he has been less bullish on the technology than McCain. Obama has said the security of nuclear fuel and waste must be addressed before an expansion of nuclear power is considered.

In recent days, Obama has modified his positions on key energy issues, saying he would remove oil from the nation's emergency reserves to reduce gas prices in the short term and could back some offshore oil drilling. But he blasted McCain's focus on drilling.

"That's what he talked about yesterday, 'I want to drill here. I want to drill now,' " Obama said, quoting McCain talking in South Dakota on Monday. "I don't know where he was standing. I think he was in a building somewhere. This plan will not lower prices today; it won't lower prices during the next administration."

He also cast McCain's recent tactics, such as airing an ad that likened the Democratic nominee to celebrities Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, as part of his move toward Bush's style of politics, which Obama pledges to change.

"John McCain wants to talk about Paris Hilton and Britney Spears -- that's his idea of a relevant campaign -- but I don't have time to deal with that mess," Obama said to loud applause at a high school in Youngstown.