In an article posted on the Wall Street Journal's website by WSJ reporter Andrew LaVallee, Unfettered blogger Joe Weiss is quoted:

Mr. Obama’s remarks focused on defense and information networks but less on the security of electrical grids, power plants and refineries, said Joe Weiss, a control-system engineer who has testified before Congress on industrial infrastructure.

From the White House blog this morning:

How much is automation going to matter to the recovery from this economic meltdown? We know the answer, and it is, "we matter plenty."

It appears that the US Administration also knows the answer. Yesterday, Vice President Biden and Secretary of Commerce (and former Washington State Governor) Gary Locke, toured the ABB transformer plant in Jefferson City, Mo., and made some important announcements about automation and the Smart Grid.

Here's the press release that ABB sent out this morning: