McCain and Obama spar over drilling, other energy issues at town-hall debate

摘要

Offshore oil drilling, nuclear power and other energy issues were hot-button topics last week at the second presidential debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama. During the town hall-style debate in Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday, both candidates said their energy policies would figure prominently in how they would deal with the ailing US economy and the myriad challenges that America faces overseas. Obama, the Democratic candidate, sought to put Russia, Iran and some Middle Eastern energy exporters on notice that one of his top priorities as president would be to cut US reliance on oil - from both imported and domestic sources. "We can't simply drill our way out of the problem," Obama said, noting that the US has 3% of the world's oil reserves but consumes nearly 25% of global oil supply.