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McCain Hits Obama on Energy with Gag Gift

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August 04, 2008 11:32 AM

ABC News' Bret Hovell reports: Obama's energy plan, as framed by the McCain campaign, can be summed up with one small giveaway to the press: a tire pressure gauge.

Obama_tire_gaugeMcCain senior adviser Mark Salter came to the press section of McCain's plane Monday morning to hand out the gag gifts: gauges that read "Obama's Energy Plan", a reference to the presumptive Democratic nominee's recommendation last week that Americans make sure the tires on their automobiles are properly inflated in order to maximize fuel efficiency. 

Experts have heralded Obama's suggestion -- that Americans tune up their cars and fully inflate their tires -- as one that could save up to 292,000,000 barrels of oil a year.

"My friends, let's do that, but do you think that's enough to break our dependence on foreign oil?" McCain asked rhetorically at a town hall meeting in Wisconsin last week. As Obama unveils his energy policy this week, the McCain campaign maintains that Obama's energy plan is not comprehensive.

McCain's campaign has spent some of the last few weeks making their political points without pulling any comedic punches. Last week they produced and released an online campaign advertisement comparing McCain's rival Barack Obama to Moses, and calling him The One. McCain told reporters that they were "having some fun."

And when Obama was traveling overseas, press aides handed out fake press credentials to McCain’s stateside reporters, which read "JV Squad: Left Behind to Report in America."

As he was tossing them to reporters from the aisle of the plane, Salter was asked if the tire pressure gauges work.

"They might," he said with a laugh. Clearly the efficacy of the gauge was not the point.

August 4, 2008 in Hunter, Duncan, Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (109)

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Welfare or warfare. Those are the two choices. One who chooses to tax us for unrealistic entitlement programs, and the other who wants to borrow money for fighting ongoing stupid nation-building wars and facilitate a new one in Iran. Go 3rd party, and send a message to the crooks who have brought our nation to the point of economic disaster.

Posted by: Ben Straub | Aug 4, 2008 12:39:44 PM

Ben...yes, and McCain is the worst of them. He has been in the Senate for 20 years pushing this crap through...

Posted by: militarymom | Aug 4, 2008 12:41:00 PM

fact check - you may have missed the point a little. I'm happy enough with Obama, so there's no "I wish we had Clinton" going on with me.

I'm not happy with McCain. No major party candidate for president should demean the office he seeks by campaigning like he is. You may not agree with that point, but wanted to be sure you understood it.

Posted by: Paul | Aug 4, 2008 12:42:33 PM

McCain is just waiting to see what other good policies and plans Obama can come up with so they can steal and run with those also. McCain is an Empty Suite or leach just sucking the blood of others to survive.

Posted by: becky | Aug 4, 2008
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becky, you are well-educated by the phony 0-bama, and learned well. You understand exactly his tactics. Fact is it was exactly what this phony did during the primaries, simply you CHANGE McCain by 0-bama.

Posted by: fact check | Aug 4, 2008 12:44:57 PM

militarymom - Agreed. The only thing McCain has going is that he served heroically and his son is over there, but I dislike his militaristic approach to dealing with countries that have different philosophies. I would pull for Obama over McCain, although Ron Paul would have been my choice. Our finances are totally out of balance.

Posted by: Ben Straub | Aug 4, 2008 12:45:15 PM

I'm sure to a Republican, there's an equation between not having a sense of humor and supporting a "phony." For the rest of us... the incredible logic of that one is lost.

Bottom line - McCain ain't a serious candidate. We all thought he was, but he's not.

Posted by: Paul | Aug 4, 2008 12:50:46 PM

Obama: World's biggest phony baloney!

Posted by: Soetoro No | Aug 4, 2008 12:53:25 PM

We have to reduce consumption and liquidate debt to save the dollar and balance the budget. I don't believe either of these two candidates has a platform that addresses any of the financial problems root causes. Let them joke around. Ha, ha.

Posted by: antenian | Aug 4, 2008 12:57:41 PM

Ben - though Ron Paul won't be on the ballot, you do have a Libertarian candidate to choose, assuming Barr makes ballot access in your state.

I'd prefer having your vote for Obama, but then we're into the lesser of evils thing. Maybe third party guys would have a shot if less people held their noses and voted for the major party candidate they dislike the least.

Posted by: Paul | Aug 4, 2008 12:59:02 PM

Every candidate, since the beginning of Carter, has been using the "energy issue" as a campaign point. And every candidate, when elected, has ALWAYS put this problem on their to do list, save for later. Obama and McCain are no different..It is up to the market forces in that higher prices at the fuel pump, higher utilities, food etc. that the consumer begins to change their habits such as driving a hybrid, consumer demand will force auto companies to build them. Government not going to do it for us. They haven't for years, they aren't going to start now which is just as well. That is the price we pay to live in a free market economy.

Posted by: REPUB | Aug 4, 2008 1:01:29 PM

Regarding the budget, let's look at what is feasible in the short term. Cutting spending means primarily one thing - cutting defense.

Defense is the lion's share of discretionary spending. Doing anything else is just tinkering around the edges. And cutting defense spending means pursuing a foreign posture that allows us to reduce O&M (ops and maintenance) spending, as well as ammo procurement.

McCain isn't going to do that. As counter-intuitive as it sounds, the budget for the next four years will most likely be bigger under the Republican nominee than under the Democrat.

Posted by: Paul | Aug 4, 2008 1:03:36 PM

Paul - My hope is that Obama wins, and that 3rd party candidates get large support. I will probably go with Barr, but at this point I am not 100% sure. I hope Obama wins over McCain because of foreign policy, and an Obama win does speak to the diversity of this nation which can only be interpreted as a good thing.

Posted by: Ben Straub | Aug 4, 2008 1:04:10 PM

REPUB - You are correct that is the price we pay for living in a free market. The free market will also correct this huge amount of debt we have accumulated through a massive recession no matter what the Fed does to stave it off. I guess currently I am a pessimist. I am totally for the free market. It would be nice to hear these candidates get into some specifics of why we are in the mess we are in rather than preaching change or making silly jokes because of their basic lack of understanding.

Posted by: Ben Straub | Aug 4, 2008 1:09:48 PM

REPUB: so what you are saying is "Do not look at economy issues, just look at foreign policy, and war... Well lets see McCain voted for the war got us into this mess, voted against our soldiers and any bill that will help them now and after. So let me see.... yes, that means that Obama and his good judgment is what we need. Thank you.

Posted by: beck | Aug 4, 2008 1:14:00 PM

All of these lame jokes about Obama being full of hot air are in a sense lame. Just this morning Obama laid out a detailed energy plan including goals to limit our dependence on foreign oil.

What has McCain proposed? Political gimmicks that low-information voters fall for every time. Obama has the support of real economists and energy experts on his side.

Who does McCain have? A Karl Rove operative who chooses to sling mud everyday rather than focus on real issues.

Posted by: Jennifer | Aug 4, 2008 1:19:44 PM

Ben - I'm not sure the free market can fix the debt. Its rapidly reaching the point of threatening a currency collapse.

Maybe that's the solution. We'll allow the currency to devalue to being basically worthless, pay off the debt with the worthless dollars, and then roll-out a New Dollar; kind of like what Germany did once with its currency.

The only question is whether the country can survive something like that. Germany could because the Germans could live off their gardens for a couple years.

Posted by: Paul | Aug 4, 2008 1:21:42 PM

I thought Mr. McCain is a man of character who will not play divisive and dirty politics, but he has played the celebrity card, the Messiah card, the inexperience card and the leftist card. On analysis of these Ads and given the history of this country, Mr. McCain has played a sophiscated racist card.

Posted by: Goodman Fredrick | Aug 4, 2008 1:22:04 PM

Dude...

There are a lot of bitter, angry people out there.

Why so much hate?

Yeah, things are lousy out there. but hate is unnecessary.

I intensely dislike the sophmoric behavior McCain's campaign has taken since hiring Rove disciples, but I refuse to hate. If you plan on revenge, first dig two graves. if you plan on hate, build a small room for it in your heart, 'cause that's where it will live.

It is a free country. Hate if you want to.

Frankly, McCain has been compelled to adopt Bush stances due to the Republican party's high value on loyalty, and Bush's disasters have left the right with little in the tank but bitterness, bile, and a never ending reserve of sophmoric cheap shots. I sort of feel bad for McCain - I'm from Arizona - and I used to respect him greatly. Now I just respect his past.

But I certainly wouldn't store hate.

Oh. and that small room in your heart you make for hate? Remember it drows bigger every year until you tell it to move out or surrender to it.

Posted by: SonOfHistoryProf | Aug 4, 2008 1:24:31 PM

Wow. McCain is insulting the intelligence of Americans and the problem is, most Americans are too stupid to realize that they are being had. At a time when we have real, difficult problems that call for real, immediate solutions we get nothing but jokes and jabs from McCain. The auto industry and tire industry also suggest keeping your tires properly inflated. Guess they're socialists. Or just silly. No, it's better to suggest that the solution to all our problems is to drill more oil. Not to find alternative sources, but to drill offshore. Which is great, until there's a hurricane. We don't get those, right??? America deserves what it gets if it elects McCain. No less dependence on oil and big environment problems. Yeah McCain '08. IDIOTS!

Posted by: Cris | Aug 4, 2008 1:28:57 PM

I think the only thing any of us can do, those of us who are truly disgusted by both men, is to wait and see who they choose for Vice Presidential candidates. Sometimes the only way you can tell a person's true personality is by the company they keep. The way I see it both candidates have one more chance to impress us or disgust us. So far disgust is all I feel for either one of them and the company they have chosen so far.

Posted by: kayfromCT | Aug 4, 2008 1:30:01 PM

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