So what's standing in the way, Mr. President?
In all, Obama has visited 22 clean-tech projects on 19 separate trips, all emphasizing economic recovery and a $90 billion stimulus program to promote energy independence.
Fracking? Did those frackers contribute?
Obama's unwavering focus has helped him fulfill a campaign pledge to push clean tech, from solar energy and wind power to electric vehicles. But by emphasizing a sector in which the risks are high, the president has prompted questions on Capitol Hill and from industry about the wisdom of his singular strategy and his political ties to some of the companies chosen for federal attention.
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
The most attention has focused on Solyndra, a Silicon Valley solar company that ran into financial trouble after receiving a $535 million federal loan guarantee commitment. Last week, Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee pressed the OMB to account for its role in the selection. Obama visited Solyndra's factory in May 2010, only weeks after it became public that independent auditors had questioned whether it could remain a "going concern."
Better take a seat and swallow the beverage in your mouth...
Some of the biggest investors in Solyndra, which makes easy-to-install solar panels, were venture capital funds associated with Tulsa billionaire George Kaiser, a key Obama fundraiser.
There was intense competition for clean-tech stimulus dollars. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said his agency reviewed 50,000 applicants and chose 5,000, a 90 percent rejection rate.
So any links to contributions are merely coincidental!
A White House spokesman said these connections were purely coincidental. Numerous factors -- including location, accessibility to airports and media accommodations -- help decide where Obama will travel, the spokesman said.
See? Coincidental! Oh, wait. He said "trips". The Prez has only visited half of those who got the boodle. What about the selections?
Some of Obama's factory appearances have had a distinctly political feel. The trips have taken him to states where he did well in 2008 and where his message of a rebounding job market is helping set the stage for his reelection campaign.
Contrary to the GAO report, the department met every requirement for the Solyndra transaction," an Energy Department spokesperson said, adding that all reviews were completed before any taxpayer money was obligated.
However..
Solyndra announced in November that it would close its older factory and reduce its workforce by 127 people. Plant expansion plans were put on hold.
This year, the Energy Department's inspector general criticized the agency for
In July, Obama lauded its technology in a Kansas City speech, and days later, Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis showed up at Celgard to signal more good news: Since Obama's visit, the company had added 40 workers. Amid this flurry of White House interest, some competitors questioned why Celgard warranted so much attention.
Somebody has to get the attention. If you can't reward your friends, what good is a free and transparent society?
"Generally, we're concerned with what kind of due diligence the administration did before throwing out that kind of money and attention," said Bryan Godber, vice president of Trojan Battery, which faced the prospect of higher prices for Polypore products. "They are giving some companies massive advantages over others."
During the official visits, federal regulators were pursuing a case against Celgard's parent company, Polypore. Obama's visit came a month after an administrative judge agreed that Polypore's purchase created an illegal monopoly and that it must sell the competitor. The case is under appeal.
However...
Polypore has seen its stock rise more than tenfold during Obama's tenure -- from $4.15 a share in November 2008 to more than $64 a share in May 2011 -- largely because of the booming market for electric vehicles. Private-equity firm Warburg Pincus has seen its original $300 million investment more than triple in value and recently has been locking in gains with stock sales. (More than $253,000 was raised for Obama in 2008 from Warburg employees and their families, campaign finance records show.)
Obama came to the plant this January, the day after a State of the Union address in which he declared that the nation faces a "Sputnik moment" in its quest for innovation. Orion, a publicly traded company, counts among its largest institutional investors a firm run by John Rogers Jr., a longtime friend and Obama fundraiser. A spokesman for the fund said Rogers played no role in the Obama visit.Some of Orion's competitors said they could only wish for such a moment of glory. Mark Eubanks, president of Cooper Lighting in Atlanta, estimated that his company sells six times more energy-efficient lighting than Orion, but it is based in a Republican stronghold.