Sununu pivots on energy

Funny thing: The same day John Sununu announces his support for the bipartisan New Energy Reform Act of 2008,  one of my favorite new blogs, FiveThirtyEight, posts that this is something Barack Obama should consider.

Go read the whole thing, but here's 538's summary of the bill's basics:

• Opens additional drilling areas in the Gulf of Mexico, and allows Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia to elect to permit drilling off their coasts. Existing bans on drilling off the West Coast, including in the ANWR, would be preserved.
• Dedicates $20 billion to R&D on alternative fuels for motor vehicles.
• Extends a series of tax credits and incentives, such as for the purchase of hybrid vehicles.
• Funds the above -- at total cost of about $84 billion -- by closing tax loopholes for petroleum companies, in conjunction with licensing fees.

By signing on today, Sununu accomplishes a couple of things:

• He undercuts Jeanne Shaheen's argument that he is in the pocket of Big Oil.

• He makes a move toward the center on an issue for which Shaheen is taking fire from conservative groups. Indeed, on this particular bill, Sununu is to the left of John McCain, who has opposed the bill because he is against closing the tax loopholes.  

We've said before in this space that Sununu faces an uphill battle in this race. But beating Jeanne Shaheen to the center on energy -- there is no indication that she has a position on the bill, according to her website -- indicates that the Sununu folks have their heads in the game.

Dante Scala teaches American politics at the University of New Hampshire and blogs at Graniteprof.