Right-wing comedians chortle at tire-gauge strategy, but the joke’s on them
August 5th, 2008 at 01:24pm Pat Cunningham
 
Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity,  NEWT GINRICH and assorted other right-wing geniuses are almost soiling themselves in amusement over Barack Obama’s suggestion that Americans could significantly reduce their consumption of oil if they would merely keep their tires properly inflated.
But, in fact, properly inflated tires could save about THREE TIMES AS MUCH OIL per day as the increased production expected by the Bush administration by 2030 from expanded off-shore production.
Then, too, the tire-gauge strategy is recommended by NASCAR and by Bush’s own ENERGY DEPARTMENT and by Republican governors Charlie Crist of Florida and Arnold Schwarzenegger of California.
But don’t tell that to the Republicans who think they’re being clever by distributing tire gauges so as to mock Obama. Of course, they also want everyone to believe that the tire strategy is the be-all and end-all of Obama’s energy policy and that he opposes new drilling for oil in America, neither of which is true.
The GOP comedians think Americans are stupid, but they’re only partly right.
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16 Comments Add your own
1. Kathy Sammons | August 5th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WAKE UP! NOT EVERYONE IS SHARING IN THE LOVEFEST OF OBAMA!
2. Pat Cunningham | August 5th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Kathy: It’s a good thing I know you well, lest I think you’re serious with this comment.
3. Jason C | August 5th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
As soon as the rich and chaufferred realize that tire inflation is important, these hucksters will decide to explain the tire guage program as a red commie ploy by Obama to control America’s citizens by creating highway checkpoints for tire checks. I bet some people would even believe it.
4. Pat Cunningham | August 5th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Jason C.: I’m glad you use a surname initial after your first name, which avoids confusing you with another Jason who has commented on this blog and whose perspective seems diametrically opposite of yours.
5. Mike Carroll | August 5th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Just out of curiosity, what idiot didn’t know that proper tire inflation improved mileage.
6. Pat Cunningham | August 5th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Mike: Here’s what Limbaugh said: “This is unbelievable! My friends, this is laughable of course, but it’s stupid! It is stupid! … Avoid jackrabbit starts, keep your tires properly inflated, there’s a list of about ten or twelve these things. I said if I follow each one of these things I’ll have to stop the car every five miles, siphon some fuel out, for all the fuel I’m going to be saving. This is ridiculous…. Who has filled his head with this stuff?”
Gingrich says the idea is “loony tunes,” as you can see in the video to which I’ve linked in the post above.
Of course, the right-wing jokes about this matter are coupled with the falsehood that the tire strategy is Obama’s energy strategy in its entirety.
7. taraariano | August 5th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
We just posted audio from McCain’s rebuttal over on Entertonement.
8. Menlo Bob | August 5th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
No one disputes that proper tire inflation can improve mileage. What Obama said was that regular tune-ups (not something cars today actually need) and tire inflation would yield more oil savings that that provided by additional drilling. When I first brought this to your attention I wondered if Factcheck.org would be looking into it. So far they’re content not to look.
9. Pat Cunningham | August 5th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
taraariano: Thanks for the link.
10. Pat Cunningham | August 5th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Obama’s got a pretty good retort to his critics on this issue:
“Now two points, one, they know they’re lying about what my energy plan is, but the other thing is they’re making fun of a step that every expert says would absolutely reduce our oil consumption by 3 to 4 percent. It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant.”
Well, of course they do, senator. McCain even brags about graduating from Anapolis near the bottom of his class. And the boobs think the fact that you graduated from Harvard Law School makes you an elitist.
11. Pat Cunningham | August 5th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Oops! The Kathy Sammons who wrote comment No. 1 is NOT the Kathy Sammons I know. Therefore, my reply in comment No. 2 does not apply. My Kathy Sammons is a big Obama supporter. This other one I guess is serious in her dislike of Obama. Such a shame!
12. Menlo Bob | August 5th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Thank goodness ran the numbers on Obama’s goofy statement.
13. Menlo Bob | August 5th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Link for the above:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/07/from-the-fact-1.html
14. Craig Knauss | August 5th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
“…what idiot didn’t know that proper tire inflation improved mileage(?)” The idiot with the half-flat tire going down the road. The idiot with black smoke pouring out his exhaust. The idiot driving all around with the brake pedal pushed. The idiot that lets his car idle for a half hour with the A/C on. The idiot that has a ton of crap in his trunk. There are lots of idiots out there. You might be surprised how few people check their tires on a regular basis. If you do, then you are clearly in the minority. Hopefully, a couple of these idiots were listening. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
15. Pat Cunningham | August 5th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Bob: Good work. Points well taken. You’ve scored again. (What is that? Twice in a week? Way to go.) But this doesn’t excuse the GOP lies about Obama’s energy program as a whole.
16. Pat Cunningham | August 6th, 2008 at 8:04 am
Hey, Bob! UPDATE: PolitiFact.com ran the numbers, too, and declared Obama’s statement to be true. See here:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/608/
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