By McKinley Conway

02/14/08. As the race for the White House heats up, more details about policy plans are coming forward. Today, Barack Obama called for the creation of a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank during a speech at a General Motors assembly plant. According to Obama's outline, the bank would invest $60 billion over 10 years on highways, technology and other projects.

Nov 2008. According to a newspaper item, Obama has announced a goal of 2.5 million new or "saved" jobs during his four-year term. Our view: There will be a tendency to claim "saved" jobs as new jobs. Our plan sets a higher goal for a longer period — 10 million new jobs in 10 years. While saving jobs is a good broad economic target, the focus of Project New America is specifically to create new and better jobs that will offer good career opportunities for workers cut from rust-belt industries.

11/23/08. Jonathan Winters. Word slipped out yesterday that Obama has a $175 billion stimulus plan to revitalize the U.S. economy. Unfortunately, he doesn't know where the $175 billion is going to come from. The obvious first target is a Federal gasoline tax. Even with gas at $4 a gallon, Americans were consuming 180 billion gallons of gas a year. A dollar tax would generate $180 billion, paying for this program entirely. Two dollars would generate $360 billion, paying for this program and much of TARP. [Oct. 3, 2008: The U.S. Treasury established the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) managed by a newly created Office of Financial Stability.]

11/23/08. WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama signaled on Saturday that he would pursue a far more ambitious plan of spending and tax cuts than anything he outlined on the campaign trail. In the Democrat's weekly radio address, Sen. Obama said he would direct his economic team to craft a two-year stimulus plan with the goal of saving or creating 2.5 million jobs. Sen. Obama said he hoped to sign the stimulus package into law soon after taking office on Jan. 20. Our view: Obama's initial recovery plan was estimated to cost $40 billion. Now he is talking about a much bigger effort.

11/25/08. Ogden, Utah. U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett said Tuesday a stimulus package will likely pass Congress, but said he's more enthusiastic about President-elect Barack Obama's plan to spend money on infrastructure — roads, bridges, sewer systems — than on so-called green technology. Our view: Spending money on roads would be very popular in political circles. The highway lobby is potent in Washington and in every state capital. Spending money for highways will never achieve energy independence. In fact it may lead to more auto travel and greater need for oil imports.

12/26/08. Thomas Friedman, N.Y. Times. "Generally I'd like to see fewer government dollars shoveled out and more creative tax incentives to stimulate the private sector to catalyze new industries and markets. John Kennedy led us on a journey to discover the moon. Obama needs to lead us on a journey to rediscover, rebuild, and reinvent our own backyard." Amen!

01/06/09. President-elect Obama meets with congressional leaders to drum up support for his recovery plan, urging quick approval immediately after he is sworn in. On his weekly radio and Internet address, he said his American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan (ARRP) would create or save between 3 million and 4 million jobs — 459,000 in energy projects and 377,00 in other infrastructure projects. This latest plan is predicted to cost $800 billion.

01/10/09. Writing for the NY Times, Paul Krugman, winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, says the $800 billion Obama recovery plan may not be big enough.

01/20/09. In his inaugural address President Obama reiterates his intention to undertake a massive economic recovery program at once.

01/21/09. Now begins the debate in Congress to determine exactly what will be included in the Obama program and how it will be administered. This will be a monumental test for the new Obama leadership team. In the days ahead the team must choose between easy political decisions and really tough economic choices.

Members of the Obama team are already being besieged by hordes of lobbyists seeking funds for projects of every variety. Some are items urgently needed for civic functions, while others are just things that would be nice to have.

For example, The county where we live has prepared a list of public works projects for which it wants $436 million. Multiply that by some 3,000 counties. Add 216 cities that have put forward a list of more than 700 train and bus projects. In addition, environmental groups would pour billions into the global warming threat. Our view: inevitably President Obama will be measured by the decisions his team makes. Will he be able to select those projects that will do the most good in creating new jobs in new industries and, at the same time, achieve energy independence — or will he give in to those who just want political handouts?

02/15/09. "McKinley Conway has issued a courageous call to action in his Project New America by setting forth a plan that can move our country toward both energy independence and a reinvigorated economy at the same time. ...it is a plan that merits close attention by our national leaders. ... Jeffrey Finkle, President, International Economic Development Council (IEDC), Washington, D.C. This is an important endorsement. The IEDC is a long-established organization of leading economic development executives who manage several thousand agencies at local, metro and state levels.

02/17/09. The Obama stimulus package (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) is signed into law. It provides some $30 billion for energy industry development. Tax credits for wind energy projects were extended through 2012 and farther for geothermal and biomass. The act provides several billion dollars for construction of transmission lines to deliver power from wind and solar installations. Altogether there are many boosts for new energy industries. On the negative side, an important provision for $50 billion in loan guarantees for new nuclear plants was stripped from the bill.

03/05/09. At a conference in Washington held by the Council of Development Finance Agencies, Site Selection magazine General Manager Ron Starner made a keynote address in which he outlined "Project New America." The support of this prestigious organization is significant.

03/06/09. Site Selection magazine General Manager Ron Starner met with Virginia Governor Tim Kaine to discuss Project New America. Governor Kaine said his copy of the proposal would be helpful in planning a session on alternative energy at the upcoming Southern Governors Conference.

03/15/09. President Obama has selected Steven Chu to be Secretary of Energy. Chu is a Nobel Prize-winning physicist who has been running the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. Our view: Chu is an excellent choice to direct an expanded research effort in new bio fuels and improved solar recovery units. Now, what we need is a top-flight engineering firm to manage the overall construction of new energy industry plants and facilities.

03/20/09. It is now becoming painfully apparent that a number of new energy projects are being delayed by bureaucracy. Some point the finger at federal officials who have been slow to issue specific spending authorizations. Others say it is state and local units that were not geared up to make a fast start. We suspect that what is needed is a ramrod operating with strong White House support.

03/20/09. It is now becoming painfully apparent that a number of new energy projects are being delayed by bureaucracy. Some point the finger at federal officials who have been slow to issue specific spending authorizations. Others say it is state and local units that were not geared up to make a fast start. We suspect that what is needed is a ramrod operating with strong White House support.

03/25/09. After a lengthy negotiation it has been decided how the bureaucracy will handle the permitting of offshore energy projects. The Federal Energy Regulating Commission will screen and approve ocean energy projects on the continental shelf and the Department of the Interior will have the oversight of wind energy farms. We understand that this turf battle has been holding up projects for some time.

03/30/09. President Obama has issued an edict to stop further development of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal site after the expenditure of hundreds of million dollars on the facility. While campaigning in Nevada, Obama had promised Nevada Senator Reid, Democratic majority leader, that he would support local opponents of the facility. Designed to handle wastes from the nation’s nuclear power plants, the much-needed underground facility was nearing completion. This is a setback for the nation.

04/03/09. The Western Area Power Administration has received more than 100 proposals for electric power transmission projects to be funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The bill earmarks more than $3billion for such projects. It is expected that specific project approvals will be announced in June and construction will begin immediately. This is good news!

04/21/09. An ABC broadcast reports the debate over "clean coal" is causing some sharp divisions in the Obama camp. The campaign promises to invest heavily in so-called clean coal processing facilities won votes in West Virginia and other mining states, but have raised heated opposition from environmentalists. Experts argue that no such plant has yet been built and even if it had there would still be many environmental problems with coal. Instead of subsidizing the coal industry for political reasons, we ought to put that money in wind, solar and ocean energy projects.

04/25/09. The most important debate going on behind the scenes in Washington is the question of who should manage the construction of new energy projects. With billions of dollars involved, this is a plum sought by agencies staffed by bureaucrats lacking the necessary experience. They want to staff up and gain on-the-job experience at the expense of taxpayers — positioning their agencies to grow and prosper. Meanwhile, knowledgeable professionals argue that this vital construction should be handled by veteran U.S. engineering firms with worldwide experience in managing big, expensive, complex projects. This is a crucial test for President Obama. If he goes with the bureaucrats we won’t be surprised, but we will be greatly disappointed.

04/29/09. Highlights of Obama decisions, edicts, and actions during his first very busy 100 days in office:

Guantanamo. Issued executive order to close prison for terrorists within one year.

Pork barrel spending. Contrary to campaign promises, approved several hundred million dollars worth of earmark projects in first spending bill to come to his desk.

Torture. Signed executive order banning torture of prisoners.

Economic stimulus. Pushed a $787 billion bill through Congress.

Bank rescue plan. Authorized $100 billion plan to buy toxic loans of ailing banks.

Auto industry rescue. Extended multi-billion bailout of GM and Chrysler.

Foreclosure aid. Approved $275 billion aid plan for homeowners.

Health care. Authorized $634 billion health care fund.

Stem cell research. Lifted restrictions on federal funding.

Greenhouse gasses. Raised required auto fuel economy from 27.3 mpg to 25.3 by 2011.

Iraq. Announced plan to withdraw most troops by August 2010, leaving 50,000.

Afghanistan. Authorized sending 21,000 more troops.

Islamic relations. Went to Turkey. Sent messages to Iran.

Budget deficit. Submitted $3.55 trillion budget to Congress.

In addition to these actions President Obama had a busy travel schedule during his first 100 days. These included trips to the United Kingdom, France, and Germany in Europe, a trip to Baghdad, another to Trinidad and one to Mexico. In the United States, there were trips to such locations as Pennsylvania, Iowa, Florida, Hawaii, Virginia, and California.

Adding it all up, where do we stand?

Our worst fears about handling of key construction projects in the recovery program appear to have been realized. The money has been or is being ladled off to federal, state, and local bureaucratic agencies under heavy political pressures. No special entity has been set up outside the political arena to manage high-priority energy industry projects that offer the best prospect for creating new jobs and achieving energy independence.

Is it too late? No, it’s not too late. We’ve lost several months of lead time, but we can make that up if the Obama team takes action soon, setting up a Project New America run by professional engineers with strong backing by the President.

05/05/09. Some specific energy industry related projects are beginning to emerge from the Obama team. Some $500 million has been earmarked for R&D ventures in the bio-mass or bio-fuel fields. These are for pilot plants or demonstration units to run by 2012. Another $100 million has been set aside for wind energy ventures. What we have not yet seen are large-scale investments in construction projects that will start generating power and creating jobs in the immediate future.

05/23/09. Observers are getting to be very skeptical about the $787 billion Obama plan (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) producing the jobs that were promised. So far there is little substantial evidence of progress. The ARRA requires a report on jobs created each quarter. Thus the first report — due in August — will be of great interest.

07/20/09. The Obama Administration has now been in office for six months. How does actual performance measure up against the pre-election campaign promises? Here are a few key issues:

Pork barrel spending: During the campaign Obama said he would not sign any bill that contained pork barrel spending. He did sign the very first one, putting the blame on Congress.

Stimulating job creation: President Obama launched the biggest spending program in history ostensibly to save and create jobs. Results to date: nil.

Achieving energy balance: President Obama gave this as a prime objective. However he sat by and allowed Congress to scrap the most important element of the recovery plan — building new nuclear power plants.

Setting up a "Project New America" development program outside the political arena: So far as is known, there has been no action on such a plan. To date all funds have been distributed through the bureaucratic systems dominated by entrenched politicians and lobbyists — where gross waste and inefficiency are inevitable.

Our opinion: We are very disappointed. At the least, valuable time has been lost. At the worst, the pattern has been set for a colossal failure.

Obama plan additions 11/4/09

11/02/09. At the time Obama was sworn in nine months ago we said he had a choice: He could launch an heroic development program like the Kennedy challenge to go to the moon or he could hand his stimulus plan over to the federal bureaucracy. We warned that if he chose to treat his stimulus plan "as a gigantic give-away program with elements to be handed off to political cronies" that that would quickly doom it to failure.

As we near the end of the first year of the Obama administration our worst fears are being realized. The Obama team has given us a huge politically mismanaged "stimulus" package that fails to give much stimulus to the economy or the morale of the people. We see the evidence of this on all sides.

The desperate Obama team is releasing glowing reports about the number of jobs created or saved. However investigations by impartial professional groups reveal that the numbers are grossly over-stated. The Associated Press reports, "Many communities hit hardest by job losses, those around dying factories and mills, have been slowest to see relief."

The Obama American Recovery and Reinvestment Act now filling political coffers with $787 billion contains only $130 billion for construction projects and very little of it goes directly to private enterprises. It is small wonder that the program has failed to create many new jobs or excite the American people.

The biggest disappointment is the failure of the Obama team to launch projects that could meet the announced goal of achieving energy independence by 2020. While there has been some highly publicized funding of much-needed wind and solar projects, there has been a gaping void in the nuclear sector.

The only way we can achieve energy independence by 2020 is to build several dozen new nuclear generating plants. Getting this program started should have been the top priority of the administration.

The problem is politics. Obama is still on the campaign trail, making speeches, traveling to remote sites here and abroad, and appearing in front of TV cameras every hour of the day or night. Someone needs to tell him that the election is over. He is now the chief executive in charge of the executive branch of our government. Now it's time for him to stay in his oval office and manage things!