Speaking at the Department of Energy today, President Obama spoke strongly about why we cannot return to the Bush-era policies that got us into the mess we are in today.

…So let me be clear: Those ideas have been tested, and they have failed. They’ve taken us from surpluses to an annual deficit of over a trillion dollars, and they’ve brought our economy to a halt. And that’s precisely what the election we just had was all about. The American people have rendered their judgment. And now is the time to move forward, not back. Now is the time for action….

He explained how the stimulus bill is going to begin to change our energy economy.

“…[T]his plan will begin to end the tyranny of oil in our time.

After decades of dragging our feet, this plan will finally spark the creation of a clean energy industry that will create hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next few years, manufacturing wind turbines and solar cells, for example — millions more after that. These jobs and these investments will double our capacity to generate renewable energy over the next few years.

We’ll fund a better, smarter electricity grid and train workers to build it — a grid that will help us ship wind and solar power from one end of this country to another. Think about it. The grid that powers the tools of modern life — computers, appliances, even BlackBerrys — (laughter) — looks largely the same as it did half a century ago….”

I hear that the Senate might vote tonight. I hope they pass this bill swiftly.