naked candidate

I seem to be doing a lot of quoting and reposting today but there are a lot of interesting ideas floating about right now.

I have been considering lately how informed we are as a voting constituency. It is very difficult to stay on top of issues, especially in this hectic season. It is even more challenging to take the time think about what is being said.

The case in point, for now, is Clinton’s proposed Gas Holiday. I believe that it is bad for the long-term affordability of gas and is very bad for the environment. The one thing that should be occurring at a time when gas prices are rising, investing in alternative fuel sources and means of transportation, will not happen if the McCain-Clinton solution is implemented and the government forces down the price of gas. We will all be paying more in the long run in more ways than just dollars and cents.

Here’s a bit I pulled from the Washington Post today that gives some interesting insight into the issue of the Gas Holiday and some of the difficulties around dealing with. I sympathize with Americans who complain about high gas prices, but a quick 3-month fix that arbitrarily affects the market and will cause rising prices in other areas is not the answer. The following post has some more details and we will be posting more as time permits.

Political consultant Carter Eskew, a former Al Gore adviser, said that if he were advising Obama, he would have said: “If you want to oppose this . . . you’re going to have to spend a lot of time and energy explaining.

“I don’t think it’s brilliant economics; unfortunately, it may be good politics. The smart people say ‘It’s stupid,’ and the people who aren’t as schooled say ‘At least it will do something for me,’ ” he said. “I don’t know that anyone connects the dots: that there have been a series of politically expedient decisions . . . that have added up to an economic picture that is not at all rosy and in fact fairly disastrous.”