It is no victory. It is the fad du jour. There isn't enough arable land on the planet to plant enough corn to make even a minor dent in the energy needs of the United States. The use of corn or other foodstuffs as fuel for transportation is driving up the cost of food in the U.S. and especially in 3rd world countries dependent on corn as a staple food. Farmers currently see a hot cash crop in corn for ethanol. The automakers see a chance to market a vehicle that burns "alternative fuel" to the clueless left wing environmentalists. A few hucksters (some of my co-workers included) see a way to make a fast buck standing up ethanol plants. The plants that can process non-food biomass e.g. switchgrass have some merit, but they will still never amount to a significant fraction of the energy needs in the U.S.
According to guru Al Gore, we'll be farming in Greenland and Northern Canada again soon.