I've noted before that debates over energy in Congress seem disjointed and tend to focus on a laundry list of responses to today's political concerns, rather than any overarching strategy for addressing our future energy needs. While Congress may not yet be up to the challenge, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is stepping into the fray--with the founding of the The Institute for 21st Century Energy. The institute has laid out the following goals: * Maintain a strong economy by increasing energy supply from all sources; * Protect national security through the expansion of domestic energy production; * Preserve and improve the environment; * Expand the nation's fuel and power delivery systems; and, * Encourage U.S. government and private sector leadership to address global energy problems. The head of the Institute is retired Marine Corps General James Jones, who, according to the Wall Street Journal, is a confidante of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain. He joins Eisenhower, Schwarzkopf, and Powell (at least) in a long line of former military men courted by both parties after leaving the service. Jones is regarded as a strong contender for secretary of defense in any of several potential administrations and may now be a contender for secretary of energy as well. A major challenge for this effort is that energy has become among the most partisan of issues in Washington DC, so serious reform efforts are hard to manage. Republicans support low gas prices, drilling in ANWR, expanded use of coal, and permissive environmental regulation, while opposing drastic changes in CAFE standards. Democrats take the reverse position on almost all of those--and most seem to think that Halliburton is the physical manifestation of Satan on Earth. The only issue that seems able to break the parties out of these positions right now is a measure of bipartisan support for increased use of nuclear power, which doesn't produce greenhouse gases. Absent a true energy crisis, it's unlikely we will see a major shift on this issue from either party in the near fture. That might change if General Jones is enough of a political prize for a presidential candidate to endorse whatever he comes up with. After all, if Paris was worth a Mass, perhaps General Jones might ultimately prove to be worth putting a few drills in ANWR.