Delivering a speech on energy policy in California this morning, John McCain emphasized the importance of pragmatism.
“Energy efficiency is no longer just a moral luxury or a personal virtue. A smarter use of energy is part of a critical national effort to regain control of our own energy future. And in this effort, practical ideas are worth a lot more than uplifting lectures.”
McCain didn’t mention Barack Obama, but the reference to “uplifting lectures” was probably a shot in the Democrat’s direction. Fine.
McCain also, by the way, spoke about energy policy during a town-hall event in California yesterday, and struck a different note.
Yesterday, McCain admitted that his offshore drilling proposal would probably have mostly “psychological” benefits, NBC/NJ’s Adam Aigner-Treworgy reports. At a town hall in Fresno that primarily focused on energy issues, McCain was asked a question about the price of gas and the viability of various short-term solutions. […]
“In the short term I’d like to give you a little relief for the summer on the gas tax,” McCain began, referring to his controversial proposal to temporarily suspend the federal tax on gasoline. But then he made a surprisingly candid admission: “I don’t see an immediate relief, but I do see that exploitation of existing reserves that may exist — and in view of many experts that do exist off our coasts — is also a way that we need to provide relief. Even though it may take some years, the fact that we are exploiting those reserves would have psychological impact that I think is beneficial.”
Got that? McCain believes we have to focus on “practical ideas,” which in this case aren’t actually practical, and won’t have a pragmatic effect. At the same time, we have to worry less about practicality, and consider what might have a “psychological impact” on the country, whether the policy makes sense or not.
What?
I’m starting to get the sense that McCain didn’t exactly think his energy policy through before he started talking about it. Indeed, this isn’t the first time he’s had back-to-back contradictions on the subject.
Here’s McCain on April 15:
“I propose that the federal government suspend all taxes on gasoline now paid by the American people — from Memorial Day to Labor Day of this year. The effect will be an immediate economic stimulus…. [B]ecause the cost of gas affects the price of food, packaging, and just about everything else, these immediate steps will help to spread relief across the American economy.”
And here’s McCain 48 hours later:
“I think psychologically, a lot of our problems today are psychological — confidence, trust, uncertainty about our economic future, ability to keep our own home. [A gas-tax holiday] might give ’em a little psychological boost. Let’s have some straight talk: it’s not a huge amount of money…. A little psychological boost. That’s what I think [a gas-tax holiday] would help.”
So, a seasonal tax cut that will serve as “an immediate economic stimulus,” and at the same time, the same policy won’t produce any real savings, but it might alleviate “psychological” problems.
The incoherence here is breathtaking. McCain believes drilling is part of a short-term solution. He also believes drilling offers no real short-term solutions. McCain believes a gas-tax holiday will produce big savings for consumers. And no savings for consumers. McCain believes we need pragmatic policies that work. He also believes we need psychic policies that make people happy whether they work or not.
I have no idea what John McCain is talking about. The real question, though, is whether John McCain knows what John McCain is talking about.
Update: Brad Johnson posted some great video from McCain on this.