Dave Schuler continues his excellent series on the important issues with this post, which is right on the money:

I believe that government should get out of the subsidies business. Subsidizing energy production whether it’s oil, water power, or ethanol for use as a fuel is distorting. If it were economical to be doing those things, no subsidy would be needed and subsiding the activity is pure and simple less efficient than not doing so. A subsidy places the government in the role of picking economic winners and losers while concealing the very price signals necessary to evaluate the worth of the competing solutions.

Subsidies also have a pernicious effect. The expectation of a future subsidy discourages private investment. Why should you take a risk with your own money if you know the government will step in and use the taxpayers’?

Amen to that. My comparison of Obama and McCain’s energy policies can be found here.