It would be easy to feel deflated today. Obama’s expressed a new willingness to accept some offshore oil drilling. McCain’s been gaining a little traction in polls, narrowing the gap to maybe 3 points, maybe zero, and part of it may be his aggressive advocacy of new drilling (offshore and in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge) to lower gas prices. On the face of it, not the most inspiring bits of news.
The happy flipside: the polls also show that energy is the top issue for voters, ahead of Iraq. That’s a stark contrast with 2004, when large swaths of the nation obsessed over gay marriage even as the war became a full-on disgrace. The upside of every American getting whaled in the head with $4/gallon gas every week is that as a result the electorate is actually thinking about the most important issue. When was the last time that was the case? 1944?
Image: flickr/416style
August 5th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
I know that many do not want to hear it, but a sound and responsible energy policy that addresses short, midterm, and long term concerns should include SOME offshore drilling. THe immediate fix for energy cost is conservation. Ask the car companies to make lighter cars. Use reusable, cloth bags, turn your thermostat up a degree or two, etc. Midterm energy stability should include offshore drilling with some mandatory investment in alternative sources out of profits. Long term solutions include revising the tax code even the playing field for alternative energy and government investment in altenatives/
August 6th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
It honestly scares the daylights out of me that anyone…anyone in this country would support Obama for President. Anyone who has a job should be running scared from Obama, that is, unless you want to be seeing over %60 of your pay go to taxes and live in a communist country.
August 8th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
[...] at Better Planet, Ben Nugent discusses a recent poll showing that voters view the economy and high fuel prices as the biggest concerns this election [...]
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:27 am
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