John McCain is trying to eat into Barack Obama's natural advantage on domestic issues by going after him on gas prices, continuing McCain's frame that Obama is "Dr. No" on energy. From the script:
"Some in Washington are still saying 'No' to drilling in America, saying 'No' to independence from foreign oil. Who can you thank for rising prices at the pump?"
The answer comes from the sound of crowds chanting "Obama!"
You see, the Republicans seem to have settled on the message that the real problem with the concept of dependence on foreign oil is the "foreign" part, not the "oil" part, so the only way to solve the crisis is to drill our way out of it here at home.
Over the past few days, we've seen a real flipping of the conventional wisdom script that "it's always a good day for John McCain if the conversation is about Iraq and it's a good day for Barack Obama if the conversation is about domestic issues." The fact that McCain is forcing this issue is reflective not only that he'd like to change the subject away from Obama's Iraq trip, but also that, between his insistence on more drilling off our shores and in ANWR and his gas tax holiday sham, McCain's false promise of immediate relief to soaring gas prices is connecting.
Polling by Stan Greenberg, who advised Bill Clinton's 1992 "It's the Economy, Stupid" campaign, shows Mr. McCain grabbing the upper hand with his argument for expanded offshore oil drilling and other immediate steps."McCain's message adding domestic oil production to a policy of alternative energy investment and conservation is favored over Obama's message that blames oil companies, calls for investments in alternative energy, and rejects limited offshore drilling," concluded a recent Democracy Corps analysis of Mr. Greenberg's research.
Watch the ad:
The counter to this argument was put well by Al Gore at Netroots Nation on Saturday and I suspect will be the basis for a counter ad from the Obama team soon:
The idea that we can drill our way out of this is just so absurd...There used to be an old remedy for hangovers called the hair of the dog that bit you. They recommend just having another drink in the morning if you have a hangover. That's sort of what that reminds me of. Oh we have a fossil fuel crisis? Let's just go back for more. When you're in a hole stop digging. [...]The defenders of the status quo are the ones who have dug us into this hole. They're the ones who say 'Let's just keep on doing the same old things and expect that we'll get a different result.' They're the ones who are saying 'Oh, it's just fine to continue to be this dependent on oil from some of the most unstable and dangerous regions of the world if we just fool ourselves by pretending that we can solve that problem by opening up a few more areas for offshore drilling in environmentally sensitive areas which wouldn't produce any oil at all for 10 to 15 years and that'd be sold to China anyway.'
Watch Al Gore:
|
|
|
Permalink :: 27 Comments :: Post a Comment
|
In order to post a comment, you must be logged in. If you have a member account, please log in to comment.
If not, you can make an account right here. It's quick and free.
