Remember way back before the election – on Monday – the big story was about then-candidate-and-now President-elect Obama’s disclosure that he intends to bankrupt the coal industry? Perhaps in all the euphoria following the histrionics surrounding historic selection of the first black man (not to mention possibly the first illegal alien) to inhabit the White House, we may have forgotten that tiny little issue. It seems that America’s collective memory has also minimized $4 gallon gas and completely overlooked the promised “skyrocketing” electricity costs. I’m thinking that, before we all go out shopping for our inaugural ball gowns, maybe we ought to revisit the whole energy independence issue.

Somewhere on the way to the election gas prices went from OhMyGodCanYouBelieveThis to Fill’erUpNoProblem, and the urgency with which we were advocating Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less seems to have reverted back to Check Back Later and We’ll Let You Know. Short-sighted to say the least. If we don’t start now, we’ll always be 10 years away from the goal.

This is when the services of a carnival barker PR master are most effective. Someone who can extol the virtues and generate the buzz to get the people excited about the project.

Therefore I humbly and sincerely want to suggest that P-eBO re-consider appointing Brian Schweitzer as America’s energy czar. Obviously the infamous Trial Lawyer speech didn’t tarnish BS’s image, and we have to admit there’s been nobody who has hawked clean coal more enthusiastically than he. Why shouldn’t he be front and center promoting one of the most feasible solutions to the problem of our dependence on foreign energy sources?

I can’t see a downside – can you?