13 comments

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  Ken Sheppardson

  1 year ago

  Karoli,
  
  First, thanks for not joining the mob who insist this Q&A means he doesn't know the price of gas. I can't imagine how all these otherwise reasonable people can convince themselves McCain doesn't know gas is just shy of $5/gallon.
  
  I suppose I can understand your anger if you want to read his statement as meaning he doesn't think it matters that he doesn't have to pump his own gas. But is that what he really meant? I have no idea. What else could he have meant? Maybe it meant that he doesn't remember what the price was the last time he pumped his own gas. That is, before the Secret Service protection went into place and he wasn't allowed to. Was it $2.75? Was it $3.50? $3.25 Does *that* matter? I sure don't think so, and wouldn't fault him for that.
  
  Like I said, I understand why you're angry, but I really think we need to rise above all this parsing, re-parsing, interpretation, and projection. We don't know what he meant. Can we interpret in a way that reflects poorly on him? Sure. Can we interpret it in a way that suggests he's basically a "regular guy" in the backseat of a car on the way to the airport having a phone conversation with someone while distracted by something else? Probably.
  
  If we don't want to have folks misinterpreting statements the candidate we support might make about RFK's assassination, mid-westerners taking comfort in hunting and church, or discussions about journalists while on a rope line shaking hands with a crowd, maybe we shouldn't do it either.
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  Karoli

  1 year ago

  Ken, I know he has to know that gas is $5/gallon. But when he says it doesn't matter whether he's pumped his own gas what that tells me is that he doesn't really know what the impact is on folks who DO pump their own gas.
  
  When you've got a driver and are not dealing with it on any kind of real level, how can you know whether or how it matters? He doesn't. He doesn't walk in our shoes and hasn't.
  
  This is a very real problem with the 'let the market sort it out' theory. We've tried in California to set CAFE standards higher than the Federal minimum and had the Bush administration hammer us for it. That's not right. It's not right that we now are hammered with some of the highest gas prices in the country, or that those gas prices are now driving up food prices nationwide, and all the while speculators are laughing all the way to the banks.
  
  So what was in his head matters less to me than the message it sent, which was that he's completely out of touch with what the 'rank and file' are dealing with.
  
  This isn't the first time he's glossed over a real issue with the 'it doesn't matter' line, either. I don't want someone telling me it doesn't matter that we have troops in Iraq for 100 years because they're not being killed. Hell yes, it matters. Those troops in Iraq have families and we're paying for them to be there instead of home protecting this country.
  
  Iraq was a botched attempt to control Middle East oil. Now Bush is trying it with Iran, and McCain is supporting it.
  
  Hell yes, this stuff matters.
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  Ken Sheppardson

  1 year ago

  See, Karoli, with all due respect, I think you're projecting here. I think what he just meant is that he doesn't remember the price the last time he filled his tank. Honestly, I don't either. I think it was four fifty something. He hasn't done it for months.
  
  The tendency is always to take what the other guy said and interpret in the way that best supports our opinion. I get that. I just wish it weren't the way these things always go. We're always hearing these things through a filter, looking for triggers that support our conclusions.
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  Dr. Thomas Ho

  1 year ago

  I'm "with" Ken. I'm a McCain supporter and I'm even getting tired of Sean Hannity parsing Obama's words as well!
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  Karoli

  1 year ago

  Interesting theory but I'm not sure I buy it. Particularly when I don't believe he's pumped his own gas in years, not months.
  
  Honestly, I would have probably let it pass, had I not already let the Bush surprise at gas going to $4/gallon pass, and had I not let the "it doesn't matter how long troops stay in Iraq" comment pass.
  
  Let's accept your argument for a minute, that it was just a dropped comment with no meaning.
  
  What DOES matter?
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  Ken Sheppardson

  1 year ago

  What matters? Well looking at the transcript of that interview, I'd say the following quotes from McCain are worth noting. Maybe not parsing, but noting:
  
  "I think [Orange County, CA is] very important. Electorally, Orange County has always been a bastion of Republican support. Obviously, that has been diluted somewhat by the dynamic growth of Orange County, but it’s still a very important place. It’s also a very important place for fundraising...I intend to compete and win in California."
  
  "Sen. Obama proposed an amendment during the debate on the immigration issue which would have ended the temporary worker program – which would have killed the legislation."
  
  "My credentials and record, including my support of the military – including the fact that there is pro-life, small-business, pro-military sentiment in the Hispanic community – I’m confident I will do very well with the Hispanic vote. As I say, Sen. Obama has not been involved in their issues. He attempted to kill the entire immigration bill at the request of the labor unions."
  
  "Q. Do you think you can gain Congressional support to end to both [corn-based ethanol] subsidy and the tariff? A. Sure....Americans are very aware of this special-interest influence in our nation’s capital. They want change that’s the right kind of change, not the wrong kind of change that Sen. Obama represents. He voted for the subsidies, he support the farm bill. I opposed it. He voted for the energy bill that was a grab bag of goodies for the special interests. I voted against it."
  
  "Q. When you talk about lifting the ban on offshore drilling, do you include California in that? A. Sure. Surely you don’t think I would exempt California. But I’ve made it very clear that it’s up to the states. States will make decisions. Texas and Louisiana made the decisions that they did. The governor of Florida, and recent polling, show that the people of Florida support such a move."
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  Earl E Morningwood

  1 year ago

  Greetings, I hope this election doesn’t hinge on who pumped their own gas last, I can see the CNN reports showing Obama and Mccain holding the NASCAR fuel cans over their head to show their solidarity with the little people :D
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  Karoli

  1 year ago

  That left a really funny image in my mind. LOL.
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  Suebob

  1 year ago

  I spent $45 filling up the Honda Fit yesterday (10.8 gallon tank and it was almost dry). The strain on my finances is pretty bad but I do like the fact that it makes me think hard about every little trip. It is a real incentive to conserve.
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  Karoli

  1 year ago

  I agree on the conserve incentive though here we were conserving back at $2.50 a gallon, because I can remember when it was under a buck and thought $2.50 was outrageous. I walk mostly everywhere anyway, or else catch a ride with whoever is going my way. But still...dang it all, it matters.
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  Dr. Thomas Ho

  1 year ago

  Well, I've had a Prius hybrid since December 2000 so I guess that I've been "conserving" for a while myself. :-) However, it is ironic that you don't "worry" as much when you drive a hybrid although I will admit that $4/gallon gas has made even me think about each trip!
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  OMG! WTF?

  1 year ago

  I'll tell you why it matters - because McCain is only reminding everyone how 'out of touch' he is - he is a 71 year old man that doesn't: 1. work weekends, 2. know how to use a computer, and now 3. know how much the average person is paying for gas.
  
  that is all.
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  Carl S.

  1 year ago

  Maybe Suebob has a key to what matters: incentive to conserve on driving. For all the pristine pictures of California's coastline, what impact do noxious car emissions have? Not as immediate as an oil spill but probably as deadly over the long haul.
  
  Now I know that's easy to say when you live in New York City with a glut of mass transit - and God bless everyone with hybrids that drastically reduce emission output - but before we personify our frustrations in politicians, we need to evaluate the whole picture and the part we all play. Heck, our tax dollars are paying to fill McCain's tank anyway. But when someone's sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on Flatbush Avenue in a giant SUV pumping out poison, I think there's enough blame to go around.
  
  I remember the message to the older generation in the 70s was "what are you doing to the earth we are going to inherit?" But what have we become with iPods, cell phones, 100 hundred cable channels that we watch while also using a laptop to go online? We are using more energy than ever! Maybe if people rethink the size and type of vehicle they drive, or reconsider some trips, the overall picture will change.
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