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Tires vs. light bulbs

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I really didn’t intend to return to the whole “tire gauge” nonsense, but let’s do one more. This one’s amusing.

After Barack Obama noted that routine auto maintenance can improve fuel efficiency, John McCain told a group of voters, “[Obama] suggested we put air in our tires to save on gas. My friends, let’s do that, but do you think that’s enough to break our dependence on Middle Eastern oil? I don’t think so.”

And what is enough to break our dependence on Middle Eastern oil? Turning off our lights a little sooner.

For those who can’t watch clips online, McCain said in April, “I’m sorry to tell you that the price of oil — as far as I can tell — is not gonna go down anytime soon until we eliminate our dependency on it. We can do that as a nation — we can turn out the lights five minutes earlier, we don’t have to drive the extra block.”

What’s wrong with this? Nothing in particular. In fact, it’s probably about as sensible as what Obama said about inflating our tires and getting regular tune-ups.

The difference is, Dems didn’t spend a week getting “giddy” about using lightbulbs as a political prop and insisting that McCain’s entire energy policy is composed of turning off the lights.

Comments

  • Lance

    says:

    There is a different set of rules only if you allow there to be.

    Of course, calling Republican’ts idiots is redundent.

  • Gustavion

    says:

    Thanks for the great tips guys (sarcasm)

    Personally, I think the best thing we can do is support ‘green’ businesses that not only provide a suitable utility but also benefit the environment. For example Simplestop.net stops your postal junk mail and benefits the environment.

  • zeitgeist

    says:

    1) Turning off the lights 5 minutes earlier is considerably sillier, as it is wholly arbitrary. Can I go home from work 5 minutes earlier as an excuse to just turn out the lights? Or maybe the last 5 minutes of my day I should work in the dark?

    2) We did not get giddy and have light bulb props. We take that as a point of pride; that may be a mistake. Perhaps we should (better late than never) use lightbulb props. And if the lightbulbs were gave everone were CFL or LED bulbs, we’d be helping the energy situation by doing it!

  • -jayinge-

    says:

    You know zeitgeist@5 we could descend to the level of the right-wing crowd (with their band-aids and pressure gauges) by handing out burned out lightbulbs with “McCain’s Ideas” printed on the side. Childish? Yes. But it might be kinda fun to watch the apoplexy in the wingnut universe.

  • Dale

    says:

    but do you think that’s enough to break our dependence on Middle Eastern oil? I don’t think so.”

    No, but putting another dim bulb in the White House won’t work either.

  • KP

    says:

    It makes LESS sense than auto maintenance. Power plants are not as efficient when not running at capacity. If we could conserve during peak use periods, it might help, but I don’t think night time peak use.

  • Racer X

    says:

    McCain said in April, “I’m sorry to tell you that the price of oil — as far as I can tell — is not gonna go down anytime soon until we eliminate our dependency on it. We can do that as a nation — we can turn out the lights five minutes earlier, we don’t have to drive the extra block.”

    How much electricity is generated from oil, anyway?

    What a retard.

  • Wrecktum

    says:

    Democrats didn’t jump on it. They should have. That is why they lose. Low road works. Time to take it.

  • Haik Bedrosian

    says:

    Fight fire with fire. Be like a Republican and answer like this…

    So McCain thinks we can break our dependence on foreign oil by shutting off the lights five minutes sooner? Is he joking? That’s a laugh!! That’s his so called “energy policy”?!

    You know who else wanted us to shut the lights off when not in use? JIMMY frickin’ CARTER! John McCain is just another Jimmy Carter!!

    Nah nah nah nah goo goo!

    But seriously folks, at least Obama knows improving gas mileage saves oil. Shutting lights off saves electricity which # 3 aptly points out isn’t generally produced with oil.

  • hark

    says:

    Funny, we’re jumping on him here, when nobody’s around except us, but when it mattered, we were silent. Not that it was the right tactic at that time. The point is, we never attack. Never. And that’s what it’s all about.

    The Republicans know how to fight. Attack, attack, attack, keep the opposition on the defensive, backing up, off balance. Divert their attention. Frame the debate, define the issues, force them to justify what they’re being attacked for.

    It works. All the Democrats are wasting time defending tire gauges. It was a diversion. The Democrats forgot about their real energy policy in order to defend an incidental, minor aspect of it, an aside, nothing more, of Obama’s.

    The idea is to keep your opponent on the defensive at all times. It really works. You just can’t get untracked when you are constantly trying to explain yourself. You have to get out in front, and attack your opponent.

    The object is to make the other guy look bad and stupid. Not win a debate in academia. Politics is a brawl.

  • David

    says:

    Well, when you go to bed at 7:00 like John McCain, is there any need to turn on the lights in the first place?

  • Shalimar

    says:

    You’re focusing on facts and worthless stuff like that. Of course McCain is a hypocrite, they all are. The Republican party has been taken over during the last 30 years by shit-flinging monkeys. The exact content and consistency of the shit isn’t important, their fans enjoy the entertainment value of watching shit fly around everywhere. That entire side of the party is just a distraction for the rubes anyway, designed to hide the looting of our country by the rich and corporate. Follow the money and lobbyists, that’s the part they don’t want everyone to notice.

  • slappy magoo

    says:

    any stunt-style attack would be met with Republican cries of “copycat” so imho, it’s a moot point.

    Having said that, Obama should hand out calendars…that go from now to the year 2020, with a caption that says “counting down the days before offshore drilling saves taxpayers 9 cents a gallon…maybe.” And every day has a countdown on it: “3650 days…3649 days…” I’d also accept those countdown clocks, like the ones bars use to count down to St. Pat’s Day or Cinco de Mayo.

  • Rich

    says:

    Virtually none of our electricity is generated by burning oil. Shutting off the lights five minutes earlier might save some natural gas, or a little coal, but would have no impact on imported oil. McSame is as dumb about energy issues as he is about the economy, foreign policy, and geography.

  • libra

    says:

    Shutting lights off saves electricity which # 3 aptly points out isn’t generally produced with oil. — Haik Bedrosian, @12

    Yes, but what you save on electricity, you can then spend at the pump and every little bit helps. That’s also why we need to put McCain in the White House; a dim bulb (say, 60Watt one), even if on all the time, saves more electricity than a bright one (100Watt) turned off 5 minutes early. And, if that dim, 60Watt, bulb is tuned off a couple of hours early in addition (which is almost a given in hte case of McCain)… Woo hoo, the savings are gonna mount pretty darned fast!

  • doubtful

    says:

    I thought the Democrats had turned out the lights, but the Republicans turned them back on after all the Democrats left so they could have a circle jerk about off-shore drilling.

  • zoe from pittsburgh

    says:

    Should Obama counter with a lightbulb ad?

    That McCain was for common sense conservation BEFORE he was against it?

    Obama needs to hit this with HUMOR. McCain is doing his damnest to mock Obama, Obama needs to do it twice as hard and turn it into COMEDY.

    Then when he get’s everyone’s attention he can talk about how he’s going to work to turn this country around and get it on the right track. Hopefully that is their long-term plan.