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MCCAIN CONTAINS MULTITUDES.
Dave Roberts on McCain's environmental agenda:
this is domestic policy and McCain simply doesn't have his heart in it. He strikes the right pose, but it's an inch deep -- he's not committed enough to it to overcome his instinctive conservative aversion to the word "mandatory."Yep. McCain totally believes in global warming and the need to get away from fossil fuels. He has a policy that will do this by raising the price of carbon, and thus of fossil fuels. He also believes fossil fuels should be cheap and plentiful, and has policies meant to lower the price of gasoline and drill more oil.He supports a "market-based program" to "beat climate change" in the abstract, but he also wants gas tax holidays, domestic drilling incentives, megapork for nuclear and coal, no boosts in sector-specific efficiency or fuel economy standards, limited public investment, and enormous tax cuts. When the abstraction bumps into the conservative interest group, the abstraction gives way.
Incidentally, the reason it's rare and admirable for a politician to be extremely open to the press is that the press can then ask a lot of questions about inconsistencies and hypocrisies and basically tear apart the politician. This is why politicians try to limit freewheeling interactions with the media. McCain, however, has managed to strike up some sort of working relationship with the press in which it's rare and admirable for a politician to be open to them because it's really fun for them to hang out with a politician. In theory, a candidate who regularly interacts with the press shouldn't be able to get away with this bullshit. in practice, the candidate who's most open to the press turns out to be substantially more protected from his own inconsistencies, because the press doesn't want to harsh the vibe on the bus.
COMMENTS (11)
And the TradMed's love affair with McCain is the only thing that can stop Obama. Look at Tweety(or was it Schuster) who discounted the Newsweek/MSNBC poll putting Obama 15 points ahead.
Posted by: Joe Klein's conscience | June 21, 2008 1:29 PM
"The most consistent and ultimately damaging failure of political journalism in America has its roots in the clubby/cocktail personal relationships that inevitably develop between politicians and journalists. When professional antagonists become after-hours drinking buddies, they are not likely to turn each other in. . . . especially not for 'minor infractions' of rules that neither side takes seriously; and on the rare occasions when Minor infractions suddenly become Major, there is panic on both ends."
-Hunter S. Thompson, 1973
Posted by: Samuel Brainsample | June 21, 2008 1:36 PM
Samuel Brainsample:
One could only wonder what Hunter would say today.
Posted by: Joe Klein's conscience | June 21, 2008 2:28 PM
What McCain is, is a realist. And he understands we live in a great, big, big world out their kiddies.
Some still have the FALSE and IGNORANT thought in their heads that if BIG, BAD America doesn't drill for and refine oil or use oil, that some fairy is going to insure that oil stays in the ground and the world is safe.
The realist, fact is that dozens of other countries have the resources and technology to drill for that oil and the economies that need that oil. You don't see China or India shying away from building new energy plants and accessing new oil, gas and coal resources including drilling off our coast.
And guess what, they are not going to be nearly as clean or careful about America as our own companies would.
If you don't use the fuel, it will get burn far less efficiently in some third world country using 1950s technology.
You really need to wake up and see the energy world as it is, not with this rose colored Obama glasses that says if America doesn't do it, then it won't get done.
While you are all worried about global warming, China and India are increasing far more green houses gases then you can possibly save by shutting down our economy.
Posted by: Sweetie | June 21, 2008 5:12 PM
If McCain were a good politician..which he is not.. he would propose drilling for oil in the 51st through 58th states that Senator Obama discovered, thus keeping the first 50
pristine...
Posted by: Anonymous | June 21, 2008 5:17 PM
Just wait till Ezra does his post on Obamas lie about passing nuclear safeguard legislation..He claimed he did this because Exelon had reported a leak at one of its nuclear plants. The NYT researched it and found .that he never passed anything.....And by the way Obama is the largest beneficiary of money from companies that have a stake in nuclear energy’s future.” Exelon, which reported the leak outside Chicago in 2005, has given him $275,000.
No wonder he watered down the bill and the killed it.
Just Google Exelon and Obama and enjoy your messiahs dirty work. Not a bad shake down of Exelon for 275k. Imagine how much safety they bypassed to pay him that much cash....
Posted by: Anonymous | June 21, 2008 5:25 PM
The Chinese are going to drill in our coastal waters and in ANWR? And the Democrats just want to let them get the oil instead of good American companies? Apparently there is nothing those pinkos won't stoop to. I'm running out to buy my McCain sticker right now.
Posted by: BP in MN | June 21, 2008 6:06 PM
That's right BP, and you'll be running out in a foriegn car, running on foriegn gas produce by foriegn companies, but don't worry, I am sure they will all want to pay for your healthcare...
http://www.coha.org/2007/09/the-oil-race-is-on-china-signs-multi-billion-dollar-oil-contract-with-venezuela-but-india-also-wants-latin-american-oil/
http://www.coha.org/2008/06/oil-battle-shapes-up-off-florida/
Posted by: Anonymous | June 21, 2008 6:30 PM
It's worse than that: the press corrects McCain's inconsistencies, because they know what he really means in his mavericky heart, even if he never says anything quite like it.
Posted by: pseudonymous in nc | June 22, 2008 10:27 PM
Sweetie, your argument is that WE should burn all the oil we can so that other countries won't? Really?
Not sure how old you are, but I hope you and I will be around to see when America is weened off our dependence of oil due to high gas prices leading to technical innovation assisted by a Democratic President and Congress, which is what we're going to have instead of McSame next year.
Posted by: Adrock | June 23, 2008 9:58 AM
That's right, we have to drill, refine and burn as much oil as we can, because if we don't, China will! We cannot allow a refinery gap!
Posted by: Cyrus | June 23, 2008 10:19 AM