In a presidential election that appears headed for a photo finish, it may be coal that transforms itself into political black gold for Republican nominee Mitt Romney and into kryptonite for President Barack Obama. While the president's economic policies have devastated several industries, it is the coal producers who are strategically located and have the opportunity and ability to become a real force in this campaign.
The main reason behind the mineral's potential election-determining power is that most of the coal-producing voters reside in traditionally Democratic counties and precincts. Ohio and Virginia, and possibly Pennsylvania, are potentially so electorally close that either candidate losing a significant share of his own party's vote could cost him that particular state and thereby the White House itself.
Therefore, the fundamental unanswered question is whether President Obama can neutralize some of his past actions in the critical energy-producing states. This becomes especially difficult when fully comprehending that Obama's Cap & Trade legislation has already proven itself politically lethal to Democrats.
We all know that Ohio, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, places that lie in a major domestic coal-producing region, are part of the group of swing states that will determine who occupies the White House after the November 6 election. Currently, polls suggest that the challenger is in position to convert Florida -- the single most important state for Romney, because he simply cannot replace its 29 electoral votes -- and North Carolina but is slightly behind in Virginia and Ohio. It's in the latter two states, and possibly wavering PA, where coal voters have the opportunity to play their decisive role.
You will remember that the president's very first major legislative initiative attempted to make Cap & Trade the law of the land. This so-called "energy equalization" concept is economically devastating to coal-producing regions, and...
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