Obama's Earth Day Pitch: 'New Energy Economy'

President Obama returned to Iowa—his crucial campaign battleground win—for Earth Day, hailing the “new, clean energy economy” and unveiling an offshore wind project. “It is time for us to lay a new foundation for economic growth by beginning a new era of energy exploration,” he said. But the town he chose may not have been the best example, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Only dozens of the 2,000 workers laid off when a Maytag factory shuttered in Newton, Iowa, are employed by a new wind turbine factory. That’s a far cry from the “millions of jobs” Obama says will flow from green projects. He also avoided specific numbers or examples when claiming that there’s a “rush to hire” for local renewable-energy projects. (More President Obama stories.)