"Is to go nuclear- and yes, you and Tom delight in saying that a large number of radical environmentalists oppose this. It will require political will to do this as well as public education, but it CAN be done."

I have no doubt this will happen eventually, the question is how long will it take. Unfortunately it could take decades. Maybe some presidential candidate will speak out about it and therefore have mandate if elected. But you have to ask yourself, do you think that candidate would be helped or hindered from such a position?
Personally I would support Clinton if I thought she was serious and could be effective on this issue. But I'm probably a freak in this regard- and generally speaking it probably wouldn't help a candidate. Though I seriously doubt that even if Clinton even wanted to push this issue, she would have the right approach. Probably, the right approach for me in regard to Clinton, is less "big wild expansive plans" and a focus on the basics- focus on how badly the nuclear waste storage program has managed and give a timetable/pledge get one operational. And to be wild and crazy why not build a few of them so transportation distance is less of a problem.

"Secondly, there should be financial incentives offered to those people or corporations that decide to use renewable energy- I am not suggesting handouts, I am talking about an investment. Tax credits for those moving to solar power can legitimately be considered an investment in our nation's security. Allow individuals to sell excess power they generate via renewable means. Some states already are doing this."

I think there is already a fair amount being done in this regard. I would like to see ethanol subsidy cut in half, giving that half to alternative fuel not using corn- but politically that would be hard. But these "alternative" green energy things are mainly show dressing- they make it seems like govt is doing something, but they are to little in terms of making any significant difference. Wind energy is probably most promising. And solar roofing might be somewhat significant.

"Germany took actions along these lines with results that exceeded expectations. They did pay more in the short term, but they are well positioned for the long term because of that investment."

Any trustable numbers on this? Focusing on solar energy in Germany seems somewhat problematical.