A contentious exchange over energy policy occurred early in Tuesday night’s second presidential debate in Hempstead, New York. While Gov. Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama of “keeping us from taking advantage of oil, coal and gas,” Obama continued to advocate for his “all of the above” plan to promote clean energy. “We’ve got to make sure we’re building the energy sources of the future, not just thinking about next year, but 10 years from now, 20 years from now,” he said.  (See the full transcript at The New York Times.full transcript at The New York Times.)

The candidates sparred over, among other things, the Keystone XL pipeline, oil company leases, energy industry jobs, and the issue