Here’s Carol Browner from CNBC this morning discussing the $8.3 billion in loan guarantees for the Georgia nuclear project. She explains the reason for selecting this particular project is that it was the furthest along in the permit process and enjoyed the support of the community — although the administration still believes it will be twelve to 18 months before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approves the application. Browner shows she’s an Obama loyalist at the start by blaming the Bush administration for not taking advantage of this loan-guarantee program, which Bush himself signed into law in 2005. (Judging from this and Joe Biden’s performance on Sunday, the new Obama messaging strategy seems to be: “Bush wasn’t nearly as Bushy as we are.”)
Judging by her own description of the selection process — choosing the company that was furthest along in the application process — it would not surprise me if all of the projects that the Obama administration is considering for loan guarantees got their start under the Bush administration.