McCain economic policy seems like he gets to cut off your leg, but will allow you to keep your foot... I mean is this guy dumb or what? He doesn't even know that Al-Quaeda is Sunni while the insurgents are Shiia. He wants you to believe that were are fighting Al-Quaeda and the Iranians at the same time, while they are fighting each other. The only thing they can agree on is more dead americans. It's too sad McCain is more than willing to give them what they want. Although I'm sure his son will have a personal bodyguard if he ever gets deployed, just like Mr. Gore. The man is a fool, but the corporate democrats won't stop even the coming war inIran. Remember the good ol' days when we had TWO parties. We could use some oppostion right now, that's for sure.

Obama is only against it because McCain and Clinton were for it first, and he doesn't want to look like a follower. Here's the proof:

THE FACTS:

In 2000, gasoline prices were climbing quickly, reaching $2 a gallon in the Chicago area _ a remarkable price back then. Illinois legislators scrambled to offer some election-year relief to angry motorists.

Obama voted three times for a tax holiday as an Illinois State Senator.

Obama is angry because Clinton and McCain are showing how they can reach across party lines to find ways to help the American people. It is largely ironic since that is what his platform has been based on.

Obama is taking a principled stand on this even if it is less popular with folks.

Also, Obama is really correct on this as well.

The gas tax holiday will do NOTHING for folks because then the demand would increase and the oil companies will just jack up the price.

We would lose 10 billion dollars and 300,000 jobs.

Ridiculous proposition.

Stacey -- The gas tax holiday provides some relief in the short term. Clinton also outlines a very specific LONG-TERM plan to address our energy issues. Maybe $28 doesn't mean much to you, but there are plenty of people out there who believe every little bit helps.

She also wants to release some of our reserves to offset demand since it is full. She outlines much more, but I know, that would be research and learning the TRUTH.

LOM ,
you do not "reach across party lines " and give them a nice back run when your still running for the president and not when your clearly attacking YOUR OWN PARTY!!!

McCain is demonstrating his Bush style of decision making. He decides what should be done, won't listen to the experts, but wants everyone to calm down & do what he says. Haven't we had enough of this kind of "leadership"?

LOM, yeah the plan looks good on paper but the risks far outweighs the benefits and thats how a real economist reasons.
1)When prices fall, demand increases and when demand increases, prices re-adjusts.
2)When it gets to the end of summer and the tax is put back, what happens? There is an additional increase in prices.
3)When the tax is removed, what will oil comapanies do? Move to re-adjust the decrease because their profit margins increases.
4) It saves me about $30 through summer, yes that can solve one or two problems but it also removes money that could have been used to fix and maintain roads and bridges.
5) What happens if during that period another bridge collapses and one of your friend or relative was driving on that bridge that particular day.
6)Clinton plans to tax the windfall from oil profits. That has an even greater risk.
7)With the decline in Profits, CEO's see their target decline, they will either increase prices to accomadate that loss or retrench workers or reduce work hours to compensate for that loss. Who loses? We do. lesser hours, and even lesser money.
Obama is fortunate enough to have seen that approach before, weighed the gains and losses and have realised that it really is not worth it.

Hillary says shes a "doer". If she really means it when is she going to get on a plane, fly back to Washington and go to the senate to introduce this bill?

If its just talk and political pandering she will talk about this all through the summer driving season. As usual it will then be too late for any real action or results.

Maybe the real reason is she knows her proposal would be a failure. This would show that her "results" driven candidacy
would instead be a she can't get the job done tag.

People of Indiana and North Carolina challenge the candidate. Tell her to stop talking, get back to D.C and she can show all of us that she's for real.

LOM,

Can you identify one intelligent person that will argue that a $28 savings over the ENTIRE SUMMER is worth the millions of dollars in lost revenue to repair our roads? And if they do so knowing that lost revenues may result in lost jobs, I’d argue they are partisan, short sighted or both.

It's no different than the residents in Florida voting for a constitutional amendment to lower property taxes. Now everyone is upset because budgets are being tightened and jobs are being lost. They are letting go police officers, fire fighters, teachers, and more. But, of course, during our unsanctioned primary all many voters heard was "lower taxes" and "savings". Yeah, many are now being saved a trip to work. :(

A $30 savings over a 3-month period is not worth the potential loss of jobs for people who need the income all to line the pockets of the oil tycoons.

It's the worst kind of political pandering because Senators McCain and Clinton know that if people were not in such financial dire situations they would not even consider it. However, some voters are so focused in supporting their candidates or so desperate for a solution (even if it's a false one) they go along with the spiel.

I can promise you that no one is polling whether these people who are losing their jobs to determine their political affiliations, whether they have been under sniper fire or if they are wearing flag pins. At the end of the day, a crappy economy and ill-conceived ideas to "fix" it are non-partisan when it comes to who is affected.

I can't believe how they have the gall to defend blatant pandering by, in effect, saying "we're from the government and we're here to help!"

How about you find some REAL solutions--ones backed by people who understand economics--and get back to us? Just because it's a "bi-partisan" bill doesn't mean that both Hillary and you are desperately trying to pander to us.

I'm not the ignorant rube you two think I am, and I find it pretty damn elitist to try and pass this off as anything but election year politics.

Do you know why Mccain is not critisizing Obama like Hillary does? He knew it was a louzy idea to begin with and what Hillary did... she would do anything to win the nomination. Obama is realistic and doesn't change his principles even he loosses.

How is supporting Barack Obama
because they think he is the best
candidate, somehow "stabbing Hillary
in the back"?

Hillary's main accomplishment is
getting married to Bill Clinton.
If she had not married Bill Clinton
would she be a US Senator represent-
ing New York state? No.
Would she be a presidential
candate? No.

Will Chelsea Clinton run for
president based upon her White
House experience? How about
Monica?

Does anyone even consider that this is all foolish? What is this argument that a suspension of this tax will result in roads not being repaired and bridges collapsing? Does any intelligent person in this country actually think that the Government is short of money from tax revenue? Wow is all I can say. We spend so much more money at a federal level than is necessary its pathetic. I really think that if you believe that this revenue is needed to maintain this nations roads, and there is no room for spending reductions in other areas to offset this, than you need to go to work tomorrow and let the boss know that you will be recieving an 18% raise this week and from now on due to your increased expenses for food and clothing and that there is no way you could possibly cut anything from any other part of your weekly budget. See how that goes for ya. Also, the real problem with this whole thing is SUPPLY, not demand. We need to STOP listening to the Sierra club and their ilk, and drill domestically for oil, build more refineries and take a serious look at restarting nuclear power plant production. That would be a long term looking way to solve this issue for Americans.

I don't see how this is going to help at all. When the tax cut is put into place, the continued increase in gas prices will add another 20 cents to the gas prices, which will just offset the tax deduction and deny any reduction in gas prices. Face it, there is no possible way to reduce gas prices at all. In addition, the only purpose of the stimulus check rebate is to serve as a temporary bandage to cover up for the higher gas prices this summer. Unless anything is done about the energy and food costs, we are going into another great depression whether you like it or not. If President Bush is not doing anything about this and if McCain is not helping to provide any sufficient relief, then God help us.

THANK GOD WE STILL HAVE POLITICIANS WHO WILL TELL US NOT WHAT WE WANT TO HEAR, BUT WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW..THE TRUTH.
THANK GOD WE STILL HAVE LEADERS WHO LEARN FROM THEIR MISSTEPS AND ARE NOT AVERSE TO ADMITTING IT. THEY ARE HUMANS!!!
SO BARACK NO LONGER FAVORS HOLIDAY GAS TAX. HE REALIZED IT DID NOT WORK WHEN THEY TRIED IT IN ILLINOIS AND HE NOW KNOWS BETTER. HILLARY/MCAIN KNOWS TOO, BUT THEY ARE SO DISHONEST THEY WILL NOT ADMIT IT. HILLARY SHOULD BE AN ACTRESS, WE NEED A PRESIDENT , NOT AN ACTRESS WHO WILL DO,SAY, AND ACT ANYWAY TO WIN THE NOMINATION. GO BARACK.......IF WRIGHT AND AYERS ARE ALL THE GABBAGE YOU HAVE HAD, YOU ARE COOL. WHO CARES ABOUT RANTING WRIGHT...LOUIS FARAKKAN, etc....

Ethanol.... Corn.... Feed....

Food prices go up, because its more profitable to sell the corn for Ethanol production.

This was supposed to lead to decreased usage of fossil fuel, but what the eco-whackos failed to mention (likely because they are mostly brain dead, and didn't think/care about it) is that the amount of Ethanol flowing in amounts to a p#$@hole in the snow in the world energy market, but the corn and such used to produce it makes a defined dent in feed used to raise cattle in the world food market. So... Prices on Oil remain high, and prices of food raise proportionally to the decreased supply of feed, and the higher prices required for that feed to produce meat.

There is little a President can do, short of increasing the supply of domestic oil, to combat this. It's all going exactly as any economist worth anything would have predicted. We created this by electing Democrats to Congress, and President Bush to the Whitehouse. This President is a disgrace to Conservatism, he is one of the most "green" Presidents this country has ever seen, and that is not good for our economy. It sure makes us feel good about ourselves to think we are all saving the planet though, huh? Same folks whining about the price of energy are likely going to buy into the "We humans are destroying the Earth." garbage. it's funny that no one sees the correlation when they look at the enviromentalist movement in this country over the last 30+ years, and the rise of energy costs in the last 10.

I don't know who should get the title of "Panderer in Chief": Hillary or McCain.

Tim C, Yeah if you do not know it, Government is short of money. Your $600 tax rebate check is money borrowed from China. A lot of money is going into the War and that is why there is a squeeze on other sectors like healthcare. Supply does not determine things only, demand and supply is vice-versa. And when you talk of finding oil wells and building refineries, finding is really not easy like you think and infact exploring it takes an even greater amount of years. Building refineries, fine will help but if America and other nations do not reduce their demand, that could swallow up the increased supply and refineries like the word only refines. The nuclear plant sure will help but it will require so much energy to serve the needs of the United States only and the dangers and money involved is what is mitigating the United States from entering into that field now. Thus, it will take a greater amount of years for that to come into fruition. By then, Mccain, Clinton, Obama and you and I would have out-lived our generations.

They should raise the gas tax by 1 dollar and also give everyone a raise on the minimum hourly wage and force companies to pay for this. In Europe most companies pay for the employee's gas and car! We need to drive less, use public transportation when available and use natural gas in our cars in the US, why are we not promoting that!