Yesterday, when Obama arrived at Buckley Air Force Base for his third taxpayer-funded campaign speech in Colorado, Governor Hickenlooper was nowhere to be found. He was conveniently in Switzerland, leaving Obama stuck with former one term Governor Bill Ritter to be his clean energy cheerleader.

Ritter's role was fitting seeing that Obama's campaign speech was a virtual rehash of Ritter's New Energy Economy talking points. And his speech got about the same reception that Bill Ritter did as Governor — namely, silence. 

At one point Obama actually had to ask the audience to applaud

You almost expected him to tap the mic and ask "is this thing on?"

Call it a dud of a speech, but don't call it a campaign speech. At least not according to Bill Ritter, who tried to tell The Denver Post's Kurtis Lee that it was about policy not re-election, only to have Lee laugh in his face.

In a speech that was supposed to focus on his energy policy, Obama forgot to mention the two biggest names in the US energy policy debate right now — Solyndra and Keystone XL. 

What he did talk about was another litany of things government should do to invest in green energy — like continuing the wind industry subsidy of $22 per megawatt hour — subsidies that will translate into campaign cash from clean energy company recipients to Obama's re-election campaign. 

He also pushed the idea of 10 gigawatts of renewable energy power being produced on federal lands — an idea that The Denver Post's Mark Jaffe throws cold water on as unattainable

As Obama made his energy speech in Colorado you would think he would throw the Centennial State some business with federal dollars for his new programs. No go, says the Post's Jaffe, who ends his article noting "there are no Colorado projects on the list, and the BLM has had little interest expressed by developers in the state."

Obama's speech didn't leave Tyler Q. Houlton, President of Compass Colorado impressed. Houlton said in a press release:

“President Obama and his crony Ken Salazar have failed to help reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil and lower gas prices for hardworking Colorado families.

Overbearing regulations on America’s energy producers, taxpayer handouts to corrupt energy companies like Solyndra, and soaring gas prices have defined Obama’s first term in office.”

If 2012 in Colorado is going to be about Barack Obama rehashing Bill Ritter's failed political agenda, then conservatives are in for a treat. 

Bill Ritter's New Energy Economy was so popular he didn't even run for a second term. Ritter himself had his ass handed to him in a debate at New York University over whether green energy can help America break out of the recession. (Watch our 5 min highlight reel from the debate drubbing here)

Everyone loves the idea of the sun and the wind powering our cars and heating our homes. The only problem is that the technology isn't there yet and when politicians force renewable energy through mandates and other legislation it ends up jacking up Colorado's electricity bills by 21% and creating failed companies like Solyndra. 

If that is what Colorado will be talking about during Obama's re-election campaign, then Obama might want to start looking for his next job now.