HUNTINGTON, W. Va - Republican John McCain appeared to back down on Tuesday in his dispute with his opponent Barack Obama over tire pressure.
Last week in St. Louis, Obama told an audience that steps such as inflating tires to the correct levels could make a difference when it comes to conserving fuel.
Cue gleeful mockery from McCain. Obama was naive, inexperienced and not talking straight to the American people about energy, he said.
His campaign went further, distributing to reporters tire gauges engraved with the words “Obama’s energy plan.”
Predictably, Obama hit back calling McCain’s mockery “ignorant,” arguing his plans were being misrepresented and saying that experts backed his call over tire pressure. Equally predictably, McCain’s camp hit back.
The surprise came during a telephone town hall meeting McCain held on Tuesday with voters in Pennsylvania.
“Obama said a couple of days ago says we all should inflate our tires. I don’t disagree with that. The American Automobile Association strongly recommends it,” McCain said.
But he kept up his broad criticism of Obama on energy: “I … don’t think that that (inflating tires) is a way to become energy independent.”
The United States’ energy challenges will be a central factor in the months leading up to the election. But when it comes to how far to inflate your tires, the air seems to have gone out of the dispute.
Photo credit Reuters/Mike Blake (Gas station near San Diego)
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It’s clear that McCain lost this one. Obama is right. No harm in mentioning that proper vehicle maintenance (tire pressure, tune up, etc.) is one way to use less gas. Every little bit helps. McCain is a loser.
- Posted by FrankWow, so McCain finally realized that keeping your tires properly inflated is actually a good way to conserve fuel?
I saw on some Republican forum how certain people remarked “Hey man, all new cars have automatic tire pressure monitors now.” Another said something akin to “Everybody knows it already and Obama shouldn’t lecture us.” LOL.
Well I have two vehicles, one a 2000 model and the other 2007 and neither have built-in tire pressure monitors. I also never check my pressure nor do I know anyone that does and had it not been for this dustup and my subsequent look into the issue, I probably wouldn’t have even bothered.
Now, however, I will be sure to keep it in mind. And if everyone else followed the tip from Obama instead of the GOP’s ignorant attempt to score political points, we’d all be a hell of a lot better off than we are today. Every little bit helps in times like these.
- Posted by Mike H.
I’m roaring with laughter at this post. You really weren’t aware of the need to check your tire pressure before this “dustup”? FYI, you also need to change your oil and filter every 3,000-5,000 miles and turn your wipers on when it rains.
Obama’s “tip” isn’t news to 99% of drivers. I’d save the “ignorant” remark for those who don’t know the most basic auto maintenance requirements.
- Posted by MattFor those who are actually furthering the idea that proper tire inflation is at the center of Obama’s engery plan, they should all know that is completely FALSE.
An audience member in a town hall meeting specifically asked Obama “What can I do right now to help?” and Obama answered with a very easy, logical step that every citizen can take to conserve energy. I know there isn’t one person out there who can say that offering this as a solution for AVERAGE INDIVIDUALS TO DO is a bad idea. McCain looks like a complete ass now trying to act as if he had supported this idea all along. Not to mention, his Off-shore drilling solution would have about equal effect on foreign oil dependence as all Americans keeping there tires inflated. McCain is completely clueless and he is the who one is dangerous for America.
- Posted by ElliotI suggest if anyone hasn’t seen int yet, check out the youtube clip of Obama and his famous line.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akjXqfvLu 28
GOP = Pride in Ignorance too funny.
- Posted by Mike from Arlington‘08 is not the year for jokes and gimmicks. I’m mad and po’d by what is going on…my 1200 sq ft house has a combined $525 dollar electric bill the last two months. I am not in the mood for Paris Hilton and gimmicks like handing out tire guages.
- Posted by daveTreat the voters like the adults we are. Rove politics has ruined the Republican brand for a generation, and what does McCain do…he hires a Rove protege.
Live near where you work; work near your home. Get a bike. Walk. And when you can’t, electric cars work! I got to drove a GM EV-1 and it was the fastest sports car off a light I *ever* drove, got a 100 miles before it needed to be plugged in, BUT everytime I parked at a store it came with a free plug in, so it was always FULL!
We almost bought an electric Toyota RAV-4, but they killed those the week we were going to the dealer.
The solutions have been there since the 1990’s, but did we really expect a couple of Oil Men to start a War ON Oil or a what we got, a War FOR Oil?
- Posted by GoneGreenDave, Obama never said that inflating tires will solve our energy problem. It’s McCain who is saying that offshore drilling will solve the $4/gallon problem. Obama simply pointed out that inflating tires properly will be of more benefit to us than McCain’s “drill here, drill now” policy. Inflating tires properly will save 12 to 16 cents per gallon at current prices while offshore drilling will save us 4 to 6 cents per gallon at current prices 30 years from now. So, who do you think won? Please, think.
- Posted by RFBorjalDave, Obama never said that inflating tires will solve our energy problem. It’s McCain who is saying that offshore drilling will solve the $4/gallon problem. Obama simply pointed out that inflating tires properly will be of more benefit to us than McCain’s “drill here, drill now” policy. Inflating tires properly will save 12 to 16 cents per gallon at current prices while offshore drilling will save us 4 to 6 cents per gallon 30 years at current prices 30 years from now. So, who do you think won? Please, think.
- Posted by RFBorjal““Last week in St. Louis, Obama told an audience that steps such as inflating tires to the correct levels could make a difference when it comes to conserving fuel.”
Nice spin, but that’s not what he said. He said that inflating tires would save the same amount as domestic drilling would produce. I know you wouldn’t understand accuracy if it hit you in the face, so I thought I’d help you out.”
VERY GOOD POINT! The gop makes a campaign out of misquoting and fake confusion on issues. It does not help if you start out stating the facts and you get them wrong. This is how Hannity and Rush think things through. Defective logic wins over the ignorant.
- Posted by MaddogThanks for mentioning tire guages Senator Obama. I had not been watching my tire pressure. Thanks for reminding me it makes a difference in fuel consumption - a pretty big one as I recall from reading about this back B.C. (before Cheney) when gas was cheap.
- Posted by JackBeing in the vehicle service industry , I can tell you the research that we see from the tire companies is that more the 60% of vehicles on the road have tire that are not properly inflated. Even with TPMS (Tire Pressure Management sensors) tire pressure can be off by a few pounds.
- Posted by MattIf everyone checked there tires once per month, we can save 4 times more than new off-shore drilling.
It is so sad. It seems that the American public is just mentally challanged and common sense challanged. They cling onto these stupid pranks that the Republicans throw out there like they’re true, no questions asked, no deeper thinking gone into it. Obama is NOT saying that having correct tire pressure will solve the energy crisis. He was making a point that doing something proactive and taking some personal responsibility and doing something that simple, would actually make MORE of a difference than drilling. It was pointing out the absurdity of McCains assurtion that drilling is the answer. Yet nobody catches it. I swear the undoing of Democrats is that they actually have intelligent, substance-based arguments. We as a country can’t grasp it. Much better to have a tire gauge gag thrown at us…. God help us all.
- Posted by NianObama is doing what most politicians will not: giving Americans the REAL straight talk about the fix we are in and the steps WE can collectively take to reverse it. McCain like his predecessor in the White House will not ask Americans to do anything, to sacrifice anything. The Republicans only talk the talk while stealing everything from under our noses.
Obama did a good thing, reminding Americans about the small things we can do that add up to big things. I wasn’t checking my tire pressure before, but I will now. Multiply that times thousands of people and he did more to address the energy crisis in 10 seconds than McCain has done in his whole campaign.
- Posted by EileenDon’t you guys realize that it always takes time to McCain understand what any ordinary American knows?
Remember home foreclosure? It took McCain months to realize it is a serious issue. Now that simple fact him a whole week. For some reason he crashes some many planes, and he graduated from the bottom list.
Here is the slogan: “Only a fool will vote Republicans”.
- Posted by BruceI watch in dismay as my neighbors to the South go through this presidential election season. Are you people serious that another GW BUSH might actually have a shot at becoming president? Even being kind, John McCain is like a puppet on a string, spouting whatever the puppet masters tell him to say, then mixing himself up and having to recant! He looks lost and I sometimes feel sad to see how he is being manipulated, by his evidently stupid handlers!! Give him and the world a break, let him retire from the scene with whatever dignity he may have left.
- Posted by Mado in CanadaMcCain’s campaign is a joke, an insult to the intelligence of every American. Here’s an editorial from the Spring Hope Enterprise (NC), which asserts that McCain’s campaign appeals to “prejudice and emotion,” revealing McCain’s “poverty of ideas and early desperation.”
—
“It is sad but telling that the presidential campaign of Republican Sen. John McCain has already slipped into the gutter before the nominating convention has even been held. It would be even sadder, considering the nation’s desperate desire and need for a change in political leadership and policy, if American voters fall for the inane, irrelevant, mean-spirited, and flatly false commercials now attacking Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama.
“McCain promised a positive campaign on issues, but when the elderly and somewhat stodgy senator found himself behind in the polls, he quietly added to his staff Republican operatives who practice the negative tactics developed by former Bush advisor Karl Rove. Their impact was obvious in McCain’s response to a successful overseas fact-finding trip by Obama to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Europe where his proposed policies were warmly received by the world leaders he visited. McCain’s initial reaction attacking press coverage was an open display of petty jealousy over Obama’s success and political skill.
“But the commercials have been worse. One, criticizing Obama for not talking to troops, was flat-out false. Another commercial, complaining of Obama’s ‘celebrity’ and comparing him to Paris Hilton, was simply stupid and inane in suggesting that a candidate can be too popular to lead a country. A third commercial, mocking Obama for claiming to be ‘The One’ destined to save the country, is similar nonsense that is neither fair, accurate, or relevant. These commercials, appealing to prejudice and emotion, attack Obama’s character without a shred of sense. They really say more about McCain’s poverty of ideas and early desperation.
“The last eight years of President Bush, aided the first six years by a Republican Congress, have done severe damage to this country in almost every area through breathtaking incompetence, record-breaking fiscal irresponsibility, a lust for power, poisonous partisanship, and a total lack of heart for average Americans struggling to get by. McCain, a distinguished veteran and previously an honorable man, has chosen to embrace most of Bush’s policies that created the mess, so he needs to spend his time trying to convince voters who know better that the Republican Party responsible for our recent problems is the right choice in November to solve them, not running attack ads to change the subject.”
- Posted by JamesPlease. This is the oldest trick in the book. You frame the statement and then argue against it. Just state that inflating tires is the extent of Obama’s energy plan then argue against that statement.
The truth. Obama was not stating his plan when he talked about inflating tires. He was stating how little we would get from McCain’s drilling plan. That’s why he compared it to tire inflation.
But in good political fashion, McCain spins, distorts, and panders. I don’t care how much he uses the phrase, “straight talk.” He is going where the polls tell him to go.
- Posted by Michael HolmesSwitch to synthetic oil from petroleum-based oil for your car. If enough people used synthetic oil, the price of per-gallon gas could go down — making up at least some of the cost of more expensive synthetic oil.
- Posted by mm2youngAlso, drive slower. Oh, yeah — keep your tires properly inflated. Like our politicians.
I have to drive my son back to college today and, guess what? I’m certainly going to check my tires pressure. Wont hurt, and could help.
- Posted by Tim - North CarolinaGee, maybe McCain was arguing that inflating his tires in Czechoslovakia or on the Iraq/Pakistan border don’t work! Probably because they don’t exist. Bet McCain is planning on putting a nuclear plant in those two places since inflating tires won’t work there.
- Posted by William