If nothing else Obama knows it won't mean much at the pump. The key is to reduce demand. Take the $65MM we are spending on the strategic oil reserve daily and build 6500 cars a day that don't run on gasoline or diesel. Electric, fuelcell or compressed air. This would put people to work in manufacturing jobs that have shut down across the country. Give away or trade these cars for primary vehicles for tax payers making less than $75k a year. that is an impact that can be felt by consumers, and will reduce the consumption of oil to reduce the price, stimulate the economy and strengthen the dollar. Not to mention helping out the environment. 2MM cars a year for 5 years, mandate zero emissions for all non-commercial vehicles and then turn it over to private industry.

"The easiest thing in the world for a politician to do is to tell you what they think you want to hear."

He would know, he's the absolute master of this!!!

Observation 3: At this point, the more speeches BO gives on the same topics, the more troubles he is in and the more voters he loses.

It is true that Senator Obama supported a temporary suspension of the state tax on gasoline. The tax was later reinstated after it was shown that the consumer actually received only 3/5s of the savings from suspension of the tax.

What you fail to mention is that Senator Clinton did not support a suspension of the state gas tax in NY a couple of years ago, now she does.

Some say Senator Obama has no experience. My vote is for him.

That's a whopping $30 per vehicle for 14 months of driving.

Based on Hillary's comments in 2000. The fines on the oil companies will result in them reducing drilling, which will cost us $1000/year for every vehicle.

I think if the tax holliday saves the people even a NICKEL its worth it.

The alternative is to merely NOT have it?

give Mc Cain and Clinton credit for doing SOMETHING to help the suffering , even if its not much for the average guy.

It means a LOT to truckers , taxis' and other transport people .

Obama does NOTHING -and MOCKS even this small good gesture? It would mean a lot more if he had a BETTER alternative to immediately help these people.

He doesnt. Just rhetoric.

I find it hilarious that the mind numbing obama people MOCK Clinton and Mc Cain for doing somehting. Even if its half baked for the average joe.

But Obama does NOTHING.

Then again, this is the story of Obamas whole campaign.

Point the finger at the other guys record , while he has NO RECORD AT ALL.

We aint buying it anymore. The RHETORIC honeymoon for Obama is over.

how is going to help truckers and other transport businesses when the roads are closed or impassable? You would save more over the same period of time by combining trips, checking your tire pressure, carpooling once a week and not speeding.

Man, BO supporters are rich, educated. Of course, 18c mean nothing to them. What do Louis and the BO fans know about working class, bitter bunch, caring for 18c less per gallon? In his, and their minds they cling to guns.

You don't get to keep that 18c. You will still pay the taxes but just not on gas. Maybe income. Maybe on cutting highway jobs. But you will still pay.

Seriously, you really think the 18 cents is going to actually get to the pump? the tax credits the oil companies already get don't get to the pump. A gas tax holiday is a boondoggle, Hillary knows it and she's said as much before. This is about buying votes, plan and simple. 18 cents per vote.

Tax the hell out of the rich BO supporters, and the oil companies that BO gave breaks when he supported the Cheney bill. That's how you will pay the gas taxes saved.

No wonder BO does not support reducing gas taxes.

It's all about PR. McCain and Clinton win, Obama (aka Soetoro) loses.

Boneheaded, Chicago

And, in your little world of wisdom, you don't think the oil companies wouldn't pass additional taxes to the consumer. Maybe you like that idea -- it would certainly keep the poor folk off the road.

18 cents means nothing to me. I drive to work down choked freeways. That wastes more money. Today we build nothing but toll roads, with public money, that allow people who can afford the tolls on top of the price of gas to get to work. The rest of us have to spend a couple of hours a day going back and forth.

Reducing fuel surcharges on trucking might be a better idea. As these companies user more and more private freighters they are pocketing these fuel charges, not giving it to the freighter, increasing their own profit at, you guessed it the public expense.

Basically with any reduction in the Gas tax you will see a reduction in price for a week or two, but it will soon be back to where it was or higher. They will claim of course that it decreased the rate of increase.

Obama is correct, this is political pandering.

Obama is right the consumer will never see any of the cuts,the oil companies will have to make up the loss some way which always comes back to the consumer
Hillary and McCain will rob peter to pay paul,for only a short term solution.

Obama is absolutely right on this. This gas tax holiday would take revenue from the Highway Trust fund which finances road and bridge repairs. So this holiday could delay badly needed repairs costing thousands of construction jobs. Hillary will say anything to get elected. It's sounds good in theory but it would be a disaster for this country

question of supply & demand

Don't blame the oil companies. They are the ones supplying what we want and without them we would have less and it would be even more expensive.

Companies go overseas and we blame them, companies stay here and become successful, we still blame them. If you want to live in a socialist country, leave. Earning profits is not a crime.

Hillary and John want to sweep the gas dirt under the rug...but, for how long? And they talk as if gas were the only commodity on the rise...what do they propose to do about groceries? What do they aim to do after their period of grace is over? How do they aim to reintroduce the taxes? Do they realize that if prices meant to go back down on their own, due to demand and supply, all they would have accomplished with their superficial measure of tax relief would be crucial interruption of road construction funds and jobs.
These guys need to wise up. As for McCain, it is no wonder his wife wouldn't trust him with her money in the first place. As for Clinton, we know she would do anything to impress the voters.

hey louis maybe you dont drive much ,some of us do ,i run a small 2 person business and having a gas tax holiday would mean about $400 over the summer,thats real money dude .thats grocieries for a week to 10 days for me and my family!pray tell me how would you pay for and how long would it take to get through congress a socialist plan to buy cars for the american public,get real and grow up.

don tufts, you just don't get it. Read this whole thread. Thousands of construction workers would lose their jobs with this gas tax holiday. And who's to say that this savings would even get to us. This is just Hillary saying anything to get your vote. The affect of this would be disastrous for this country. Do not take Hillary at her word. You need to research it first.

hey don, if you read the post I said how it would be paid for. calling it socialist only tells me that you should please look up that definition. Te auto industry has had decades since the last gas crisis to get us off the gasoline standard. They killed every initiative to do so. If the information on the plant closures in Michigan, Indiana, and Pennsylvania are accurate, then nearly all of the space and equipment and trained personnel are ready and available. By the end of the summer cars could be rolling off the line. You would save $400 if the full 18 cents reached your pocket and gas prices stayed exactly the same as they do now, how about not having to pay for gas at all, ever? how many more groceries would that buy for you and your family? When industry crushes innovation, it is time for radical action. I'll reiterate, it can be paid for by suspending purchases of oil for the strategic oil reserve and using those funds to reopen plants and provide jobs.

If there was ever a person in touch with what blue collar America needs it is Obama, he doesn't pander and promise. he gives you answers.

Louis, I agree with you. Hillary will tell us anything to get us to vote for her, hoping we don't fully look into it. Obama tells us like it is.

Obama supporters keep spinning.

They talk about bridges falling down. What has Obama proposed to DO about it. As in RIGHT NOW.

Nope. He proposes nothing. Just rhetoric. At least Mc Cain and Clinton propose to do something now.

Yes it means a LOT for long haul truck drivers. Yes it means a lot for taxi drivers and others.

But you Obama lovers just want to SPIN IT.

Only an Obama lover can SPIN something that HELPS people, but their candidate will do NOTHING instead.

Yee haw.

Obama cant do anything. He is far too busy calming super delegates behind the scenes that he is actually still ELECTABLE in November.

I would worry more about that then trying to take some non existant high road with no plan in reply.

He has far bigger fish to worry about.

Louis here thinks middle class americans are what Obama cares about.

They cant listen to obama. They are too busy being GUN TOTIN, BIBLE THUMPING BIGOTS to get over their BITTERNESS.

remember?

For a guy who loves middle america so much, they sure HATE him. He loses by WIDE margains every time.

Then again. Obama cant win a major primary.

Ke, you are absolutely correct about the "Pardon" of clients of Hillary's brother. Ed Gregory and his wife Vonna Jo, were both convicted of one of the biggest bank fraud cases in the history of their state which caused the failure of not one but two banks, due to scam artist type of lending practices, to himself, to friends, and probably to anyone that would pay a fee. He paid $400,000.00 to Hillary's brother, as a "consulting fee". And he did a carnival on the White House lawn. Three years after paying his fee, and after doing the carnival at the White House, he is pardoned.

Clinton was not the only government official who Gregory bought, no, she was one in a long line of politicians. There are many people like the Gregorys, they aren't original in the way they manipulate power, corruption of government officials is nothing new, but we tend to abhor it when we find it, and worse yet we use to expel them from office when discovered. Those days are over, presidents can now legally lie to the public without consequence, they can start a war based on lies, they can position their family members to be enriched and then give out presidential favors, and they can do this without repercussions.

However, people suffer for every unjust action which enriches the corrupt and priveledged, there is an unjust action which robs another unjustly. In this case, I experienced the uunjustice which would never have occured had it not been for the unjust Pardon that Ed Gregory was given.

I watched as Gregory gained a no-bid 3 year contract to the Florida State Fair, after he paid $100,000 campaign contribution to the local politician who headed the State Fair Board. the board didn't even know the contract had been inked, because they were never consulted. It was the first time the board had ever not selected the company that would get the contract, they were not consulted, they were not informed, the contract was signed, sealed, delivered, and they were only able to read about it. Their boss, who signed it, technically had the authority to sign it, but it had never been done before in the history of the Florida State Fair.

As it turns out, Gregory could not legally have that contract, because as a felon he was not allowed to have a State contract. However, he argued that the conviction was going to be appealed, or something like that, and then he got a pardon, which allowed him to keep the contract.

Why did this hurt others? Because Gregory lied to people on a regular basis, conned people day in and day out, and extracted extortion money from every business vendor that wanted a space at the Florida State Fair. As the sole holder of the no-bid contract, you had to deal with him or forget about the fair. He would lie to vendors by verbally telling them there will only be one or two of a certain type of vendor, get paid $6,000.00 per vendor, and then invite 6 of that variety of vendor, coaxing them in from all over the nation to come to Florida and be the only vendor of you name it. When the vendors would get there, and realize they had been duped they dared not make a big issue about it, as everyone at the fair has seen and been approached by these people I can only describe as huge uneducated criminal looking guys, the kind you only see on television. They are the guys who approach you and tell you that you have to get in their car or golf cart now, that Mr Gregory wants to see you now. If you can't go that moment, they tell you it is not an option to not go. Then you get in the cart, get driven to see Gregory, wait an hour for him to see you, then he greets you kindly and says you owe him some money. You ask him what mony, that you already paid your $6000 fee in full, and he informs you there are some other fees. He calls it a clean up fee and only allows you to pay cash. His goons are waiting right outside the door. Its a scarey situation, you either pay or you wonder what the consequences would be. If you didn't pay the fee, only permitted to be paid in CASH, then you could expect that you would not be getting permission to be at the Florida State Fair again, and you might be forced by some mysterious circumstances to shut down and leave right away. Everyone knew these were the rules that the Gregorys played by, and the professional ones who went to other fairs said that was not the industry norm, that they did not have to pay those fees to other operators of fairs.

These fees were seperate from the contract to be at the fair, it was a seperate deal that could only be paid in cash, which he referred to as a "Clean up fee". He cleaned up alright, several hundred dollars from every vendor, off the books, 100% in cash. There are hundreds of vendors of all sizes at the fair. I was a very small vendor, he must have extorted huge amounts from larger vendors.

On the day I went into his office, unwittingly to pay this fee which I never heard of, I saw and was introduced to a goverment official who sat in his office behind Gregories giant Mahogany desk, counting green cash like a child in a candy store. Stacking it, and saying hello at the same time. Meanwhile Gregory extorted another few Hundred dollars from me. He made it all look above board by having an official there, but of course, when someone will only accept cash for one particular fee, but will accept checks and credit cards for all other fees, and you see a government official sitting their happily counting green stuff, there isn't much doubt about what it is.

When I questioned the fees which were never told to me before, I was told that he wouldn't force me to pay him, but I should think carefully, especially if I ever wanted to come back to the fair again. It had a certain authoritative threatening tone to it, the kind of tone you might imagine at a prison cafeteria: when the local prison thug bullies one of the inmates - - - "Joe, you can eat the food on your tray without giving me any, or you can "share" it with me, you decide, but you might want to choose carefully." Yah, thats about how graceful it was.

So Gregory spent $500,000.00 that we know of because it is in the news papers, buying off politicians. He also apparently paid off a local official who was sitting in his office couting green stuff like a boy in a candy store.

There are many people like Gregory who locate a-moral people naturally, because con-artists read people better than anyone else, which is why they are so good at conning. They are natural born people readers who have no ethics or compulsion about using their talents to extract things from others, legally or illegally.

If Gregory was attracted to the Clintons in order to extract his pardon, then it is because he knew he could find a way to get what he needed, in this case, a $400,000 payment and a carnival show. Thats what we know about. its become public record only thanks to investigative journalists, otherwise we would never know Clinton's brother received $400,000.00 from a felon who was later pardoned.

Do we want someone in office who can be bought with cash and favors?

I like the thins Hillary says, but when I am reminded of the pardon of Ed Gregory, and all the inconsistencies in her record, I don't want to elect that kind of person into office. Who could they pardon a guy who victimized so many people, who did such a good job of manipulating the banking system that he put two banks out of business, in a feloneous case of fraud that was described by prosecutors as the worst case of bank fraud in their states history. They received a letter from the prosecutors listing Gregories crimes and giving their strong opposition to any consideration of a pardon. I am sure the prosecutors were devastated by seeing a regular old con artist felon, who cons people daily, walk away from his record as a felon. That single act of pardoning him caused victimization of untold numbers of people who relied on the fair as a way to make a living and had to be extorted of money by Gregory. Who knows, maybe that was the money that paid the $400,000.00 in fees to Clinton's brother.

who Who knows who will be buying the presidency next, which felon next, stand in line, for a fee, you can have the white house arrange some favors for you too.

I also don't want McCain in office. He is so flimsy on his beliefs, the only belief he has that is not flimsy, is his war belief. That one is frighteningly not even up for discussion, it is chiseled into stone. Everything else is for sale, all his former beliefs are for sale, you would notice that his beliefs now in his campaign are not the beliefs he touted prior to running for office. Now that he needs to curry political favor with various parties, he is changing his position on everything, except no changes in his position on the war, that is in stone. He has not bearing, as the wind changes, so does he, except on the war. What is frightening is that regarding the war, he is so inflexible that all rationale arguments will not effect his position on the war, which is too inflexible when considering how many lives are going over there to die. His position on everything else is also frightening, because he basically says and does whatever his handlers tell him to do. He allows himself to be prostituted for the votes, by changing his views. I personally think his only concern is the war. He has no experience with the economy, with business, with taxation reform, with corporate america, no experience with healthcare, or poverty. How is he going to help our country. Following a guy who has no room for debate about the war, who shuts people down with rhetoric if they disagree, isn't that the George Bush Republican agenda? Do republican presidents simply do what ever their party tells them to do? It seems that way, they never seem to think for themselves. Now, in the case of George Bush, I really prefer he does not think for himself, but I really don't like the policies of his handlers.

If handlers are going to run the country, shouldn't we get to vote for his handlers. Lets skip the garbage of voting for the presidents, lets mandate that we get to see who is handling the president, who is managing his views and sound bites, who is handing his foreign policy decision, etc, and lets mandate that they must give speeches and debate too, so that we can find out about the team that is really making the decisions. If we are going to have a puppet president, wouldn't it be wiser to speak to the puppeteer?

Thats it, I know I rambled, but that summs up my views. Oh, one other thing, I think Obama might be the right guy. He has handled his candidacy reasonably well, with some serious mistakes about the reverend wright matter, and a gaf about the people who cling to guns and religion. However, when you listen to him, at least you know he is telling the truth and speaking from the heart. You can also tell he is intelligent, and he does not seem to respond out of anger or infuriation to anything that has gone on in the race. McCain and Clinton have both had indignation moments, McCain all you have to do is talk about the war and he will insert his foot into his mouth everytime, because he has a unipolar view on it. Obama, on the other hand, handles all the controversies, real or percieved, with a level of calm and grace. I think he is inexperienced, but I also think he has a natural ability, and that he learns fast. He is also honest about his mistakes, he can explain why he voted a particular way when it is questioned and his explanations seem genuine, and seem to hold up to investigative reporting. Investigative reporters have not turned up much dirt on him yet, and he has answered every accusation with grace, and has not complained much about any of it, although he has described some of it as a sign of it being silly time in political posturing.

Oh Louis, you are right about the 6600 cars a day, a lot smarter, and no, anyone who thinks 18 cents per gallon is ever going to reach their pockets and stay there, is just not informed to understand that demand will drive the price right back to where it was, and that we need our road work to be done, which is paid from the highway fund, so the taxes are going to come from somewhere.

If truckers and taxes need special relief, or someone who commutes long distances, maybe a seperate economic consideration can be designed, as they are carrying an unjust burden, but giving the average driver 5% off on their gas bill is not going to help much. Didn't one guy figure out it would add up to $30 after 14 months. I'm sorry , that is not a solution, that is a fantasy, and besides, economics would steal that $30 from you anyways. I want my elected officials to work on real solutions that have a chance of working.

The end!

McCain and Clinton both must think we're dumb. Dropping the gas tax would save us a few pennies on each fill up, but collectively lead to either the further deterioration of our aging infrastructure or yet more debt by augmenting those funds with other money.

Suspending the gas tax will merely increase consumption of gas, which will increase demand and cause prices to go up. Not to mention freezing funds for needed road and bridge repairs. It's a politically appealing but policy-stupid decision, and I am glad Obama has decided not to go along with it.

The best way to combat high gas prices is to reduce consumption and therefore demand by investing in public transportation. I live in an inner suburb and take the subway to work every day, so I only have to fill my tank about once a month. I may even get rid of the car altogether at some point. If the government invests in extending the reach of public transportation, more people will be able to use it, and the price of gas will go down.

Hillary, Hillary, Hillary! If you were really serious about the 'gas tax holiday' then you and your running mate John McCain would quit talking about it and go back to the U S Senate and introduce it on the Senate floor. However, it would fail there and you couldn't stand the embarrasement of another legislative loss at this point in your campaign. It's just a good soundbite and you'll try to milk it for all it's worth (which isn't much). All Talk, No Action from Hillary.

If the oil companies are getting record profits then it seems the gas prices are intentionally being raised for their benefit. I'm sure the demand for gas is high. People has to go to work, to the store, so on and so forth. But if the oil companies is making a big profit and they apparently are, big record profits, then there should be a way for the government to step in and stop it. Did they not do something like that in the 60s? I wasn't around then but I have been told they did something of the sort. It just seems to me that the only ones getting anywhere these days is the oil companies and don't they have enough money?

The last time I looked Hillary and McCain are still Senators. They can't implement anything.Neither has been elected President yet, or did I miss something.

There is no way in H*ll that anything can happen this summer. You are all being lied to. This, as Obama has said is a ploy for your vote and nothing else.

Hillary said yesterday at a gas station that Americans need to conserve, but she left the gas station in a caravan of 10 vehicles all large SUV'S. She needs to practice what she preeches

It is worth noting that the primary in NC and IN and ultimately the election hinge on a bet by two of the candidates that low information voters will believe their preposterous assertions that a "gas tax holiday" will help them pay their fuel bills this summer.
Anyone with a high school level education in economics will tell you a gas tax holiday will actually have the effect of raising gasoline prices. The consumer will simply never see a dime and the oil companies will make even higher profits. Not to mention the fact that it might put as many as 300.000 people out of work when the country is reeling from job losses or drive our debt even higher.

It is simply impossible to even suggest that such a measure could be introduced much less pass through congress before the end of the summer given nobody but McCain and Clinton support it in congress.

We are witnessing an epic and historic clash of old and new politics, one rooted in pander and deception of the past and one with the promise of truth and transparency.

My vote is for Senator Obama

I think people don't realize that weather cycles and so does the political bs. Read Newsweeks from the 70's. People worried about their children being in the dark in 30 years. Never happened. They talked of finding alternative energy. That we had enough coal that could be turned into oil to last 300 years. Never happened. I saw the Gov. of Montana and he said they are ready to turn coal into oil would last 200 years. What has stopped our dependency on foreign oil thirty years ago and today? THe environmentalists. The Newsweeks of the 70's also talked about seeding the clouds, talked about the problems with health care with costs, the uninsured and fraud. So in thirty years what have our politicians done for us? I know what they've done to us. When the Johnson administration had their "War on Poverty," it just showed the politicians what programs to go to make their money. So in thirty years nothing has changed but the size of their bank accounts.

We need to make both side accountable and stop allowing the media to spread the bs further. Make them all accountable or none of them will be.