December 2, 2008 8:41:07 PM CST
(Newser) – Why are Republicans chanting "drill, baby, drill," a call for an outdated, 19th-century technology like fossil fuels? Because they are turning every political debate into a cultural "wedge Issue," Thomas Friedman writes in the New York Times—"including even energy policy, no matter how stupid it makes the voters and no matter how much it might weaken America."
"I respected McCain’s willingness to support the troop surge in Iraq," Friedman writes, "even if it was going to cost him the Republican nomination. Now the same guy, who would not sell his soul to win his party’s nomination, is ready to sell every piece of his soul to win the presidency. Obama may be a bit professorial, but at least he is trying to unite the country to face the real issues rather than divide us over cultural differences."
Source New York Times
Aug 18, 08 2:39 PM CDT Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are each touting a plan to save America from the looming energy crisis, but they're providing too many sunny outlooks and not enough tough candor, Walter Shapiro writes in Salon. "The Ten Commandments of politics now began, 'Thou shalt not talk honestly to the American people about sacrifice,'" says Shapiro. More »
Jul 18, 08 10:17 AM CDT With daunting issues demanding immediate action—energy, the markets, and crumbling infrastructure to name but a few—the US is about to enter a phase of "government activism," writes David Brooks in the New York Times. Bad news for John McCain, right? Maybe not. As past periods of great change show, it is more often the conservatives leading the way in such eras. More »
Jun 19, 08 7:32 AM CDT The offshore drilling ban has been in place since 1981, but George W. Bush—who is still the president, Gail Collins reminds us in the New York Times—wants it overturned in two weeks. Watching his speech in the Rose Garden, where he said Democrats would be to blame for high gas prices if drilling in heretofore verboten places was not immediately authorized, the columnist wonders why the president waited until now to call the Dems' bluff, and how unfortunate it is for John McCain. More »
Jun 18, 08 12:09 PM CDT Yes, $4 a gallon seems steep, but the worst is surely yet to come, Robert J. Samuelson writes in the Washington Post. Gas is on pace to rise to $7 a gallon by 2012, with oil rising to $225 a barrel, according to one economist. Oil-rich nations are acting as though we’ve already hit “peak oil,” and fast-growing nations in Asia and elsewhere are keeping demand steady. More »
Apr 24, 08 11:58 AM CDT The government is pumping 60,000 barrels of oil a day into a “rainy day” reserve, but with oil prices at a record high, many argue that it’s already raining. That includes the presidential candidates, all of whom want to at least stop adding to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve—and Hillary Clinton wants to release some of it. But President Bush maintains that the reserve is untouchable. More »
Who cares how much steel John McCain has in his gut when the steel that today holds up our bridges, railroads, nuclear reactors and other infrastructure is rusting? - Thomas Friedman, New York Times
John McCain • oil • politics • energy • oil drilling • Thomas Friedman • campaign issues
