Tires vs. light bulbs
By Steve Benen Tuesday Aug 05, 2008 1:40pmI 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? My friend Jed discovered the answer: Turning off our lights a little sooner.
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.
Update (Blue Gal): Don't miss C&L reader Plisko1's YouTube, an excellent push-back on the whole tire gauge thing. We've got talented readers!
commonsense vs. republican.
hmm... will americans be smart this year?
McCain puts tire gauge in mouth
Republican John McCain appeared to back down on Tuesday in his dispute with his opponent Barack Obama over tire pressure.
[…]
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.”
And Obama turns it back on him:
“While we’re on the subject of Senator McCain contradicting himself,” [Obama] said, and outlined his own suggestion, mocked by the GOP, that Americans keep their tires inflated, and McCain’s concession that it’s reasonable.
“In the coming days it’s going to be interesting to watch this debate between John McCain and John McCain,” he said.
How many republicans does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
One.
But he hire ten illegal laborers to install it for him.
And when the bulb goes out
He buys a new house.
Sure, turning out the lights will work for McCain and his ilk. All old people go to bed at 8:00 p.m., right?
Would this technically be a "gafe" or a "flip flop"?
http://flipflopper.bi30.org/
Does McSenile have dimentia?
I call it enlightenment from a dim bulb!
Plisko1's video! Right on! Thank you for your excellent activism.
I think it's a tacit admission on McSame's part that the whole tire gauge gimmick was silly and could potentially backfire on him.
Litabell @ 4:
Aww man I was gonna say once Jeopardy was over ...
Plisko1’s video is GREAT!!!
last night ron was saying he spoke with the obama campaign and suggested they hand out gauges at the convention. i think that's a good idea. mccain taking it to that level.......what gets me is that he isn't coming up with ongoing nonsense....it's the clown behind the curtain
Rove protege. the message here obama will be detailed and we all have to participate to accomplish the big piture
energy independence with transition/efficient conservation.
I have an electric bike and thought the batteries where getting old after Obama's inflate the tires thing I checked the pressure and low and behold they where low. This is an exaggerated result because of the size but my duration went from 18 miles back to the original 25 miles on a charge which cost me 12 cents by the way
Having moved well beyond hatred for these neo-con troglodytes...I have yet to find a word or phrase that sufficiently describes the absolute depth of my negative feelings towards these anti-American bastards.
When will the American public come to the realization that McCain's "got nothin"?
If Obama was a white male with an anglo saxon name he would be ahead in the polls by 80 points.
My current bike tires require 65 psi. I let them get down to 50 psi one time, and it felt like I was pedaling through mud.
Why does the corporate media continue to promote McSame over Obama? We'll tell you right after this advertisement from Exxon...
maybe it was colbert..so i don't know how accurate but
proper inflation can save on average .12 cents a gallon
at today's average gasoline price per gallon
The pressure in your tires does actually effect gas mileage so correct inflation does help reduce the amount of oil required.
Turning out the lights a little earlier would have an impact on the amount of coal we use.
This is comparing apples to oranges.
Gollum @ 9:
I still say that Obama should grab the concept of a tire gage as political "gift" Hit them back and don't let the Repubs get away with continued stupidity/bumbling. It's also calling attention to practical, immediate action that helps the wallet too. (The "gift" is sure to pay for itself with volunteer contributions)
Flash: The news media and pundits go along and endlessly repeat any stupid thing that a GOP candidate plucks out of the air and twists out of context to make it sound stupid. They don't do the same for a Democrat.
Darn liberal meda.
I fitted compact fluorescent bulbs throughout the condo back in March 2006. The average bill is $100 a month and it's an all electric condo with HVAC. I've had to replace 1 bulb since.
Plisko1's video is no longer available on YouTube. SOMEBODY must have gotten rubbed the wrong way.
If we want to really conserve our resources, then we need to turn out the lights on the Neocons, to whom conservative is an oxymoron.
We should have someone hand out CFLs at the next McCain "town hall". They save more energy than turning off incadescents. Even Wall-mart acknowledges that.
Yeesh.
bring on a ad with bush and mccain hugging with real bush approval numbers and the gas pump with the numbers rolling.....and ask people are better off than you were four fxxking yrs. ago?
this is a third g.w.bush term get a grip people
Is it time to start selling McCain brand 2 watt lightbulbs?
Just a side note. I recently had my tires filled with CO2 instead of air. I am already getting better mileage on cooler tires. You might want to check into it.
Weaseldog @ 26:
that's friggin funny......shxt
‘Triple A’ Recommends Putting a Muffler on John McCain
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=2488
I think that we're missing the point of McCain's campaign focusing on the tire gauge. It is calculated Republican policy to ridicule the opponent at every opportunity. They are not interested in engaging in meaningful debate, they want to frame the opponent as a point of ridicule and scorn. They did this with Gore, and Kerry, and now they are doing it to Obama. This plays well to the choir in the far right-wing. The question is whether this ridicule is resonating among the independent voters that will decide the election. Obama is making a mistake in not countering the ridicule, not to please the Fox News Republicans, which he will never do, but to counter any effect it may have on independents. In the mean-time, McCain's staff will scour and scratch for every opportunity to frame Obama as a person to be laughed at, to be derided.
Grandma Jefferson @ 21:
That's great Grandma Jefferson...but why do you hate America? ;)
I guess one good thing did come out of all this tire gauge deal, people are thinking about common sense things they can and should do to save energy. That's a plus.
lj @ 27:
Sorry, it's nitrogen. Thanks, NASCAR!
ALEJCARO @ 30:
Actually, (and I do agree with the point you're making here BTW) but Obama did counter quite well I think...something about how (and I'm paraphrasing here) "they're proud of their ignorance" or something.
I think Obama's realized it's time to fight back!
mackiddo5, it's still there! I just checked and it comes up no problem for me.
Sure, that's easy for him to say. He saved all the kerosene lamps from his teen years.
My '05 Bonneville told me I should check my tire pressures on Sunday, it wasn't kidding, one was DEAD flat... Durn nails...
“[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.” --mccain
take notice of something subtle:
the (corporate sponsored) conventional wisdom surrounding our energy problems is that the crucial problem is NOT a reliance on oil.
instead, the msm and compromised politicians continue to claim that the real problem is a reliance on middle eastern oil.
i would surmise that oil cartel-funded think tanks requested this slight qualification in the energy discussion.
proposing new drilling ideas that won't have any effect on the price of gas, and won't add oil to the market for another 10, 15, 20 years is not any sort of realistic solution to the problem. it is a gift to the oil cartels, and another assault on the idea of public lands.
oil is the problem: no matter where it comes from.
lj @ 33:
I'll have to look into that...oh btw...just found out they're building an experimental hydrogen filling station near where I live, haven't seen many hydrogen fuel cell powered cars here in south fla...but hey...gotta start somewhere right?
I will post more as I learn more about it!
Does the Obama campaign hand out light bulbs now?
And will they be the energy-savings kind? They better be or else watch how the GOP spins that out of control!
Oh, yeah.....Democrats DO need to get giddy over this. Repugs are spreading so much crap, like they always do, and as John Amato suggested a few days ago, Obama needs to "hit hard."
Spread this video around!
surfjac @ 40:
They can just recycle burned out bulbs. Those use no energy at all.
liberalMcTireGaugeO'JusticeNmoderation @ 34:
i think your right it's time to rumble but actually i believe obama has been patient and waiting. letting mccain show his true colors. although in some respect this may not be his true colors but his campaign doing. what's weird about this gauge gate whatever....the (R)
seems to get off on such bullshxt. i want to believe people will take notice but i may have too much confidence in the public.
And why has no one posted the audio of Sean Hannity doing that Pontiac Vibe commercial where he talks about how that car has sensors in the tires to let you know when to air up the tires to help conserve on gas?
When I heard that yesterday, I thought that would be all over the sphere.
liberalMcTireGaugeO'JusticeNmoderation @ 34:
I think Obama saw that as too good an opportunity to miss. He seemed like he enjoyed the hell out of saying what he felt to be the truth. The guys funny as hell and his timing as he tells a story is great.
When he says something humorous, he doesn't have to tell you that it was supposed to be funny as McCain often needs to do.
The McCain campaign is huffing its own farts.
For so long the GOP has had a pretty good echo chamber going. Between elected officials, think-tanks, and paid talkers, they could create a consensus among their base that could carry their astroturf message to a national audience.
But I have never seen the echo chamber so weak. They issue a talking point and it gets picked up and circulated, their base gets excited, and it gets up in the media. But overwhelmingly, their messages don't have the staying power. They simply do not pass into the realm of common sense like they used to.
Of course the pundits and politicians will continue to exude enthusiasm about their talking points, because that is what they are used to doing. But when it doesn't work, it looks eerie and out of touch.
They had the golden goose... but they have cooked it. Too many scandals. Too few results for the grass roots. So they perpetually quicken the pace and intensity. And with each attempt, their formula gets weaker and more precarious.
I am glad that Obama has steered clear from their formula.
OIL
I have seen lots of talks on oil but this lady gets it
A true American
Conservative or Liberal
Anne Korin Global Security Analysis,
(Institute for the Analysis of Global Security)
Talks about Oil and what we can do
she explains it in plain language
anybody can understand.
This is must see TV
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=7MVwL2PcCG8
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=I8WRq2C31ao
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=efW_IR-SYJ8
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud_E-o2voUE
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=qfSbkiCwv-I
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=s9ua3C0e6Lk
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=HxZzLyV3Cwg
Isn't that what Nancy Pelosi did in the House? Turn off the lights?
Samson- @ 38:
this is a very good point. i must say my brain did pick up the qualifier(middle east oil) but i didn't put it together. i would like to see/listen to a debate between obama and mccain strictly on energy policy nothing else....with a follow up fact check.
constituent @ 49:
Indeed Samson! Good catch there! I sure as hell missed it. Thanks!
pissed off patricia @ 45:
Got THAT right Pop!!!
People yucked it up about the tire gauge comment, and then they thought about it and decided it wasn't funny, it was logical. So the laughs faded away.
The repubs might regret that they made such a big deal of that because Obama put a little egg on their faces. This is the difference between a thinking person candidate and a candidate who has nothing, so he makes fun of the other guy for any reason he can find.
constituent @ 43:
Well I think maybe we can afford to be cautiously optimistic...key word, cautiously!
constituent @ 49:
Yep, this began some months ago. Repubs would say we need to get off "foreign oil". Dems would say we needed to get off "oil". It was a pattern that continued until the repubs changed it from foreign to middle eastern. I knew way back what they were up to and they have shown me to be correct.
Senator McCain seems to be making a habit of criticizing his opponent for comments on subjects McCain himself injected into the debate just weeks earlier. Should the issue of "looming Alzheimer's" now be injected into the debate?
47 Dennis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8huXkSaL7o
not that was pre million dolars contribution from oil men thinking.
Yeah, great, and as soon as our vehicles run on coal or natural gas, the idea of turning off lights early will certainly help.
Moron Republikans. The Obama folks should beat them over the head with the fact that they don't understand energy sources.
John McCain endorses Barack Obama for President!
now that was pre million dollar contribution from oil men thinking.
a lot has changed in 3 months.
this non-profit report suggests that some oil companies don't pay or under pay the royalties for lease(s)
http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=2711
Of course he wants to turn out the lights... He's tired of everyone seeing what dim bulbs the GOP have....
9 Gollum Says: I think it’s a tacit admission on McSame’s part that the whole tire gauge gimmick was silly and could potentially backfire on him.
Like his dinner
My precious....?
Let me get this straight. McCain wants me to leave work five minutes early. ( Lights are off, can't do any work) But I'm going to need the five minutes anyways, because I have to walk the last block to my house. (He can make this part of his health care fitness program)
McCain's arguments against Obama have crossed over into becoming comical. He's simply gotten into the point of mocking Obama's possitions no matter what they are. Pathetic.
I think a general strike would also drive gas prices down. Nobody working. Nobody going anywhere. Just a whole lot of kicking back. But McCain would never suggest this.
Maybe McCain can add layoffs to his energy plan. If you lay off a million workers, that's a million fewer cars on the road. And that is greener than green.
I am wondering whether his speech write -or whoever it is that types up his teleprompter isn't playing jokes on him.
The bit with the tire gauge, and more recently offering his c*nt for the topless, {semi) nude banana employing Buffalo Chip beauty pageant.
I just feel like McCain is totally being disrespectful of people like my grandparents who cut back during times like the great Depression and the oil crisis in the seventies. They shut the lights, carpooled, they even had their ceiliings lowered to cut back on energy costs. We had a store down the street and I would walk to the store to get things like milk and eggs, we didn't have air conditioning.
Old timers see this for what it is, McCain is saying DON"T STOP GIVING YOUR MONEY TO THE ENERGY COMPANIES!!
Don't cut back, it'll hurt those who really care, the oil companies.
Don't put your money in the bank, we have better things to do with it.
beneath the artic ocean 90 billion barrels...russia is stepping up the pressure...the resource war(s) are on
http://wsws.org/articles/2008/aug2008/arct-a05.shtml
arctic ocean........whoops i did it again
Raise taxes: will leave you less money to buy products from China and India, which will slow their progress towards middle class, purchasing energy consuming products, lowers oil prices and gasoline prices. We benefit.
(-;
constituent@61
great link, thanks!
McFlaccid needs a tire gauge up his wazzoo to see if his dong is inflated like his out of control ego.
"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."
And this is why Obama may lose.
People are dumb.
Why? That's what I want to know.
When the other team plays dirty, putting your hands on your hips and whining "We don't use tactics like that" is NOT going to win the day.
It's time to fight back as dirty as they do.
This statement makes no sense as it relates to ME oil and fuel. Lights run on electricity. According to Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute, less than 2 percent of oil in the US is used for electricity, and it's bottom of the barrel stuff.
Conserving energy through simple, sensible actions like turning off lights that are not in use and keeping your car properly tuned is for pinko, treehugging, liberal, hippy PUSSIES!!!
/republican brain worm attack
Does this tire gauge business remind anyone else of the purple heart band-aids they were handing out 4 years ago?
nissan is taking this very serious...this probably isn't a popular idea but i say the government subsidize for a short period or( a grant...loan... stock purchase) GM a get them quickly competitive. i'm aware they have vehicles coming out but make it quick as possible or at least on schedule...the transition is hybrid
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080806085901.thpknii3&show_artic...
constituent @ 70:
constituent @ 71:
the USGS projects that there could be 90 billion barrels.
Though the USGS is probably correct that there is oil there, they've had a poor history of predicting supply.
One of the reasons is that they use demand forecasting to predict future oil needs, then use these figures to determine how much future production will be available. From this they can calculate how much oil is left in the world.
So from this, I gather that we need to find another 90 billion barrels of oil there, to meet their forecast of future demand.
David @ 77:
this guy was on charlie rose about three weeks ago he is an expert on energy has been for over 30yrs. i would highly recommend you listen to that interview if people haven't...thanks for bring his name up he had some interesting comments about drilling ANWR and maintaining a pipeline on permafrost more importantly he said it would need costly maintenance and full-time security from potential terrorist attack(s)
Thanks Nicole and C&L for linking to my video!
And thank you C&L readers for the compliments!
There's more to come.
And I double checked and the video still plays fine.
Thanks again!
Plisko (aka Plisko1 on YouTube)
oopps. . I meant thanks Blue Gal. I had Nicole on my mind for some reason.
-Plisko-
......{I think that we’re missing the point of McCain’s campaign focusing on the tire gauge. It is calculated Republican policy to ridicule the opponent at every opportunity. They are not interested in engaging in meaningful debate, they want to frame the opponent as a point of ridicule and scorn. They did this with Gore, and Kerry, and now they are doing it to Obama. This plays well to the choir in the far right-wing. The question is whether this ridicule is resonating among the independent voters that will decide the election. Obama is making a mistake in not countering the ridicule, not to please the Fox News Republicans, which he will never do, but to counter any effect it may have on independents. In the mean-time, McCain’s staff will scour and scratch for every opportunity to frame Obama as a person to be laughed at, to be derided.}.........
Excellent point....and I am reminded a few days ago when McCain was giving a talk out in the sun with his ballcap on and telling people the importance of wearing sunscreen.....Had Obama done that the conservative talk shows and Fox news and republican politicians would be calling it Obama's Health Care Plan.
This is all they got...their candidate is pathetic...but Americans are stupid enough to fall for it.
Dennis @ 47:
I'm on video 3 now.
She speaks well.
She's talking about biofuels.
The problem here is that the BTUs from these sources won't come close to the BTUs we consume from oil.
good two minute newscast video....the california off shore drilling/oil would last 16 months.....
http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/48011-the-compromise-drill-anywhere-plan
Hello Mods - quick suggestion - please create a thread....for this, that way the right wingnuts & right wingnut trolls can go night, night...
We can dispense with the BS...
Who agrees with Obama on tire inflation?? Why none other than George H. W. Bush!
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/08/politifact-find.html
Politifact Finds Obama's Tire-Inflation ClaimTrue
August 05, 2008 10:05 PM
Our friends at Politifact have also looked into Sen. Barack Obama's claim about tire inflation and found it to be true http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/608/ -- not merely that car tune-ups and proper tire inflation will save millions of barrels of oil per year, but that it will save more energy than new off shore drilling would yield.
No one knows for sure, of course, which may be one of the reasons why our experts disagreed with Obama's claim that this conservation method would save more energy than new off shore drilling would yield.
But the salient point is that such measures are serious. Why the Republicans are mocking them at a time of energy crisis seems bizarre.
We're also reminded of this news from 1990:
"The Washington Times, September 14, 1990...The Bush administration yesterday launched an advertising blitz telling Americans they could fight oil shortages and high gas prices by conserving, while advising Congress there is no sign of price gouging by the oil industry and that gas prices are 'not unreasonable.' The slogan for the yearlong campaign, 'Do Your Part, Drive Smart,' tells consumers they can save more than 7 million gallons of gasoline a day if they keep their tires properly inflated, drive slower and join car pools.
Said Energy Secretary James D. Watkins: "The president has called upon Americans to do their part 'to conserve. Our intention is to give people simple steps they can take immediately a nd have direct impact on fuel savings."
Reported the media at the time: "The new public service announcements give drivers tips on how they can save gasoline. One television ad, which will be broadcast later this year, shows a gigantic oil gusher that is not coming from a well, but bursting forth from the valve on a tire. The announcer tells viewers that by slightly increasing the air pressure slightly in their tires, they can save 50,000 barrels of oil each day."
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2D61F39F937A2575AC0A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1
I said this earlier but it needs repeating (If I must say so myself. lol):
Properly inflated tires, they say, will add about 3% better gas mileage. On $4.00 a gallon that is $.12 a gallon savings. McShame, Limpdick, and Hannity laugh at this as if it is some kind of joke. McSame wants to drill off the coast thinking that will save the day. But you know what? EVERYBODY says that the oil from the new offshore drilling will be available in 10 years. And guess what? It will only bring the price of gas down about $.05. Obama’s hot tip about keeping your tires inflated properly will save more than double what McAsshole’s idea will do and do it 10 years earlier. Why would anybody vote for a retard like McShit?
Drilling solves nothing (aka right wing hater) @ 88:
all of us in this community know this is true. the message needs to brought to the haters of liberals