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Set aside, if you can, the frivolous allegations of Republicans "playing the race card" (which came in for some mockery tonight on The Daily Show) or the frivolous personality-based attacks against the Democratic candidate (which came in for some mockery tonight on The Colbert Report). There's some serious talk from the candidates happening on energy... although with a side helping of silliness, of course.
Barack Obama on Monday outlined his energy plan. John McCain will outline his Tuesday. Because much of Obama's energy plan had been unveiled before, his proposal to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve got the bulk of the attention. CNNMoney.com, which has done an excellent job covering the substance of this campaign's policy proposals, goes in-depth on whether that would help gas prices, coming up with an answer that I can summarize as "basically, yes." Obama's call amounts to a shift, of sorts, as was his statement recently that he could tolerate some offshore drilling as part of a larger package.
As for the silliness: McCain continues to mock Obama for his factual, expert-endorsed suggestion that properly inflated tires could help reduce the impact on motorists' wallets. Porch Dog takes on McCain's war with accurate information here. One hopes voters are smart enough to see through this. Obama may have exaggerated the impact of properly inflated tires, as ABC's fact check discerned, but it is simply undeniable that it would help, and it is false to assert that the tire-inflation suggestion is the sum total of Obama's energy policy. If Republicans had focused on one part of what Obama had said -- specifically, the degree to which properly inflated tires would help -- they would be on safer ground.
The race, it seems, has crossed the line it showed the early promise of never doing -- that is, the point where attacks on the other candidate are dominating the headlines. Obama released his first attack ad against McCain on the energy front, after dealing with the first direct attack ads from McCain. At least Obama's ad keeps a little of the focus on issues over personality, but it looks like it only gets worse from here on out. |
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