How out of touch is Barack Obama? He's so out of touch that he suggested that if all Americans inflated their tires properly and took their cars for regular tune-ups, they could save as much oil as new offshore drilling would produce. Gleeful Republicans have made this their daily talking point; Rush Limbaugh is having a field day; and the Republican National Committee is sending tire gauges labeled "Barack Obama's Energy Plan" to Washington reporters.
Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points. In other words: Obama is right.
Unfortunately, Time magazine is making a LOT of assumptions here.
First off, where do they get their figures of 200k barrels per day in year 2030? Secondly, they make their argument based upon the assumption that NO ONE is properly tuning their cars and keeping tire pressure correct. They don't have hard numbers, but are making statements as if they do.
Secondly, if Obama is right, then why is he suggesting open up the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
The reserve is supposed to be for emergencies, not keeping prices low. It's a short sighted viewpoint that'll cost us dearly.
If Obama's right on the tire pressure point, which of course, he's right to a degree, in that it'll help keep mileage up and thus, consumption down, then why suggest opening up the SPR at all?
Oil companies, commodities traders, and everyone else has noticed that $4 a gallon gas is too much to pay, and thus, will get people to drive less. Unfortunately, I think people have a short memory span, and when gas gets to say $3.25, people will go "oh, everything's better", when clearly it needs to be back down to the low $2 range.
But then, Obama likes to come out and claim that McCain is in "oil companies pockets"
"Every time you fill your tank, the oil companies fill their pockets. Now big oil's filling John McCain's campaign with $2 million in contributions. Because instead of taxing their windfall profits to help drivers, McCain wants to give them another $4 billion in tax breaks.
"After one president in the pocket of big oil, we can't afford another.
When clearly he's stretching the truth AND being hypocritical as well:
The ad does not point out that Obama has collected at least $1.3 million from the energy/natural resources sector. About $400,000 came from oil or gas company workers.
McCain's contributions are not from oil companies directly, something the ad does not make clear. Corporations are barred by law from making such contributions. The independent FactCheck.org has previously criticized the Obama campaign for implying that his rivals (during the battle for the Democratic nomination) took money from oil companies.
•PolitiFact.com, a project of the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times and CQ, has called the charge that McCain would give oil companies $4 billion in tax breaks "barely true." McCain would push to reduce corporate taxes across the board, not just for the oil industry.
Based upon these things, I cannot vote for Obama, like you thought I would to begin with. :) When the economy needs a push and spending needs to be curbed, I tend to trust the guy who's asked for almost $0 in earmarks, instead of the guy who asked for millions of dollars for a hospital that his wife just happens to work for.
USA Today reports that officials at the University of Chicago Hospitals told the Chicago Tribune that Michelle is "worth her weight in gold."
"She's terrific," added Michael Riordan, who was president of the hospital in March 2005, when Michelle Obama was promoted to vice president for external affairs and had her annual salary increased from $121,910 to $316,962.
How...odd...
Travis
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