In the fall of 2008, Stacy McCormack's students were caught up in the presidential election, and she began to wonder how she might harness this passion for politics in her high school physics classroom. At about the same time, a friend recommended the book "Physics for Future Presidents" (Muller 2008), which led her to develop a year long project that integrated energy, literacy, and public policy. The book and the project based on it are described in this article and address misconceptions about energy so students can make informed and scientifically accurate decisions related to the topic.