The USA has been on tough moments before and has walked out of them just fine, not easy, but fine. It is my thinking that Mr. Obama's plan of using clean energy as a motor to move the US's economy forward is correct.
Look at Costa Rica, a small country in Central America. We are small in land and small in population, but with a big environmental conscience. This is why, we power our home and industries needs with natural resource based energy. 90% of our energy needs are based on Costa Rica's own energy.
Imagine the US saving that much money. Just in oil, in 2004, 13.15 million bbl/day were imported (according to www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/us.html), which means $650 million per day. If 50% of that money can stay in the US, that in it self will produce a bailout plan every 2 days!!!!
Mr. Obama knows that the USA has plenty of wind, sun, rivers for hydro electrical energy, and natural gas (cleaner than oil and one of the worlds largest reserves) to help the country be more energy independent.
Here are some examples of Costa Rica's experience http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-ZmX2MX2IQ http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-149575 http://guachipelin.com/english/sustainable.php