The Ethanol Lobby is Strong
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- "Mr. Obama is running as a reformer who is seeking to reduce the influence of special interests.
But like any other politician, he has powerful constituencies that help shape his views. And when it
comes to domestic ethanol, almost all of which is made from corn, he also has advisers and
prominent supporters with close ties to the industry at a time when energy policy is a point of
sharp contrast between the parties and their presidential candidates.
In the heart of the Corn Belt that August day, Mr. Obama argued that embracing ethanol
“ultimately helps our national security, because right now we’re sending billions of dollars to some
of the most hostile nations on earth.” America’s oil dependence, he added, “makes it more difficult
for us to shape a foreign policy that is intelligent and is creating security for the long term.”
Nowadays, when Mr. Obama travels in farm country, he is sometimes accompanied by his friend
Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader from South Dakota. Mr. Daschle now serves on
the boards of three ethanol companies and works at a Washington law firm where, according to
his online job description, “he spends a substantial amount of time providing strategic and policy
advice to clients in renewable energy.”
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