Climate Politics

Obama campaign’s attempts to get gas ads at the pump foiled

Barack Obama’s campaign wanted to bring the energy ad wars directly to the pump, but their attempts have been foiled. The campaign wanted to run an ad on the mini TV screens that appear on some gas pumps, pointing out that John McCain voted against higher fuel-economy standards and renewable energy, and that Obama is […]

McCain now agrees that inflating your tires saves gasoline

John McCain and his campaign have been ribbing Barack Obama for his statement last week that if Americans made sure their tires were properly inflated it could save as much oil as would be found in offshore areas. The McCain team went so far as to hand out tire gauges at the Democratic candidates’s events. […]

Keith Olbermann on McCain’s campaign

Brutal: [vodpod id=ExternalVideo.1011969&w=425&h=350&fv=launch%3D26045608%26amp%3Bwidth%3D400%26amp%3Bheight%3D320] See also Rachel Maddow’s comments at about 3:25 in here: [vodpod id=ExternalVideo.1011970&w=425&h=350&fv=launch%3D26045709%26amp%3Bwidth%3D400%26amp%3Bheight%3D320]

Presidential candidates keep the energy ads a-comin’

John McCain put out this new ad yesterday, “Broken,” in which he’s portrayed as the “original maverick” and pledges to “battle Big Oil.” (Someone might want to pass the message along to his donors.) Barack Obama responded with this new ad yesterday, challenging the premise that McCain has been a “maverick” on energy and other […]

Kaine vs. Sebelius

What Eve said — and also the coal thing.

Fact-checking the McCain campaign’s press call on energy policy

The McCain campaign held a press call yesterday on Barack Obama’s energy policy, in which their spokesfolks let fly a few statements that should be categorized as something other than truthful. Senior adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin: “Barack Obama has said no to more domestic exploration of oil and natural gas … He has said no to […]

The ‘psychological effects’ of threatening war with Iran

Steve Clemons makes a point worth repeating — if you’re worried about "psychological effects" on oil speculators, perhaps a better strategy than hyping offshore drilling is dialing back the warmongering rhetoric toward Iran.

Is drilling debate a repeat of the immigration debate?

Last week, Matt Yglesias finished his stint blogging for The Atlantic. Next week he starts blogging for the Center for American Progress. In between he’s taking a week off — the first time, according to Matt, that he’s gone more than 24 hours without blogging in over four years. We don’t want Matt’s head exploding […]

Are Obama’s energy panders as bad as McCain’s?

I think Kevin Drum is being too hard on Obama here. Obama and the entire Democratic Party are getting killed on energy right now. The pressure to do something is extraordinary. Obama is looking for concessions that can take some of the heat off without giving away the game, and in terms of concessions, opening […]

Since offshore oil is de minimis, why shouldn’t Obama and the Dems make a deal? Part 1

Getting something for nothing is always a good idea. Kudos to Senator Obama and other progressives for understanding this. The key questions are:

1. How much of a "nothing" is ending the congressional moratorium on offshore drilling?
2. How much of a "something" can progressives get by way of a serious effort to end our oil addiction once and for all?

Right now, it seems like conservatives are willing to hold their breath until they turn blue in the face before they agree to move any legislation whatsoever if it does not include coast drilling. Politically, they seem to have a winning argument in part because the media simply isn't policing the debate, even when people like McCain just repeat the lies of the oil industry over and over again. And in national politics, the side who doesn't have to explain their position usually wins.

I do think that agreeing to some coastal drilling now is de minimis as for two reasons: