Great Plains in Politics

It's a bright and cool Tuesday morning after a heavy nighttime rainfall here in Lincoln. I'm at work doing my usual morning work routine (which, incidentally, doesn't actually involve any work). I'm perusing my favorite news websites with Google Reader, which keeps track of updates from all of my most visited sites.

In terms of the Great Plains, the overarching theme I see permeating the news is energy, energy, energy.

It's a different world out there: it wasn't until relatively recently that the world began sitting up and taking notice of the energy crisis it faces, both in terms of human and environmental impact. At the forefront of the issue is the Great Plains, an area that has a lot to offer the world in terms of energy production--ethanol being the most obvious, though certainly not the only one.

Of course, this means that the Great Plains states will also be playing a pivotal role in this year's Presidential election. For the first time since Bobby Kennedy's race for the White House, Nebraska might be a state to fight for. I have it on good authority that we'll be seeing more of Senators Obama and McCain in the coming months.

Hopefully this post will be a good talking point for you all--how do you feel about our role in the current energy crisis? Do you look forward to a more important role in the Presidential race, or do you even think we'll have one? Ready...discuss!