A reader has a much better riff on the McCain tire-gauge/oil-drilling email. [Full text at the jump.] The letter clearly shows McCain up as an out-of-touch elitist. If the shoe were on the other foot, McCain would exploit it and AP and the cable newsers would treat as an issue of earth-shattering importance.
Maybe John McCain can afford to laugh about inflating your tires. I guess once you marry a hundred million bucks you don’t have to worry about your gas mileage. But there are lots of us out there who are really hurting, and we don’t think it’s funny at all. Just shows how out of touch he is.
Not only that: he wants to charge you $25 for a tire gauge you can get for $2.99 at Ace Hardware. Who knows? Maybe he thinks that’s a good deal. But he’s not getting my $25. Let him ask his oil company buddies.
The guy just doesn’t get it. No wonder he thinks that we’re better off now than we were eight years ago.
Wouldn’t that make a great TV spot, with a middle-aged, overweight white guy in work-shirt? Not an Obama spot, but maybe the AFL-CIO.
Update This is pretty good: Obama gets the difference between laughing off an attack (bad; ask John Kerry) and laughing at an attack. But it’s still too much “policy,” I think.
What Obama doesn’t say is that due to McCain and his oil-company buddies, actual Americans are hurting so badly that they actually need the $100 or so they could save each year by inflating their tires. (Figure 15,000 miles/yr. / 20 mpg = 750 gals/yr x $4.50/gal = $3400/yr. x 3% = $102.) And McCain is so rich and out-of-touch he just doesn’t care.
Second update Michael Grunwald runs the numbers: proper tire pressure will displace more foreign oil in 2030 than would offshore drilling.
From: Rick Davis, McCain Campaign Manager
To: xxxxxxxxxxxx@gmail.com
Date: Mon, Aug 4, 2008 at 8:51 AM
Subject: Have you checked your tires lately?
Mailed-by: bounces.johnmccain.com
hide details Aug 4 (2 days ago) Reply
McCain Team –
Americans across the country are feeling the effects of high gas prices and our need to expand domestic oil production.
John McCain says we need offshore oil drilling and we need it now. Senator Barack Obama has consistently opposed offshore drilling – calling it a “gimmick.” Senator Obama’s solution to high gas prices is telling Americans to make sure their tires are inflated.
Today, I’m asking for your help in putting Senator Obama’s “tire gauge” energy policy to the test. With an immediate donation of $25 or more, we will send you an “Obama Energy Plan” tire pressure gauge. Will simply inflating your tires reduce the financial burden of high gas prices on your wallet?
It’s clear Senator Obama has no plan to address the energy challenges we face as a nation. He has said no to offshore drilling, no to expanding domestic drilling and no to nuclear energy. He has no plan to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
John McCain is prepared to lead our country as president to break our dependence on foreign oil with real solutions. John McCain believes we should lift the federal ban on offshore drilling, enabling you to decide where we drill for oil.
But John McCain won’t be able to enact these policies without your help in electing him as our next president.
Please help us put Senator Obama’s energy plan to the test – donate $25 or more for your very own “Obama Energy Plan” tire pressure gauge.
Thanks, as always, for your support.
Sincerely,
Rick Davis
Campaign Manager
P.S. Our next president’s energy policy will need to reduce our dependency on foreign oil. John McCain believes we need offshore drilling now. Senator Obama’s plan is calling on Americans to check their tire pressure. We’re asking for your help in testing out Senator Obama’s energy plan. With your donation of $25 or more right now, we’ll send you a tire gauge to test for yourself, Senator Obama’s “tire gauge” energy policy.