Everybody knows cars get better MPG with fully inflated tires. Obama mentions doing so as a way of mitigating the price of fuel, so Republicans (though I hope not conservatives, who consider themselves to be bright and independent) decide to try and convince people that Obama's energy plan can be reduced to a tire gauge.

Am I missing something?

Yeah - it's that if your tires are anywhere near properly inflated - like say above about 20 lbs or so - you're not going to see a significant difference at the pump. (We won't even talk about what underinflating does to the life of the tire...) 1 to 3% - if you're getting 50 miles to the gallon, you'd get an extra half-mile to a mile and a half per gallon.

At 25? An extra quarter-mile to 3/4ths. That's assuming all other things are equal.

The rest of Obama's plan is handwaving. Verbose, eloquent handwaving - but I'll bet you a quarter that if he gets elected, his energy plan will end up in the same wastebasket as Nancy Pelosi's.

Well, it's something that can be done now, for free. And it's not his energy policy, it was a line in a speech. His policies are on his website if you're interested.

Are we to take his energy policy with the same seriousness we took his Iraq policy? Or his no-drilling stance? (Which has since changed, by the way... maybe... if nothing changes his mind... perhaps...)

Millions of electric cars. Renewable energy resources. So far, environmental groups have managed to block solar plants, wind farms, and new hydro - we won't talk about nuclear. So where are we supposed to get the power for those cars? It won't be from oil, or coal - perhaps large gerbil wheels connected to generators we'll all be assigned shifts to run in?

Obama's a weathervane. He will spout ideas, and they'll be PC, and fit with the thinking of the day. But when the weather changes - he'll be saying something else again.

Even the folks at Huffington Post are having problems with him.

He's just not ready for prime time. And he'll deal the Democratic Party a severe blow if he does get elected, because he's going to be a friggin' doormat for every two-bit dictator that comes along, and his domestic policies are going to make for some very interesting times here in the US. (And not in a nice way, either...)

The mere fact that a 2 bit political hack from the Chicago machine that doesn't have any experience, original idea's and less knowledge about our country than your average 5th grader has become the defacto nominee of the Democrat party rather than being laughed back to where he came from should scare everyone that takes presidential elections seriously.

For anyone that thinks his "inflate your tires" statement is new Mario Andretti was saying that 20 years ago in TV commercials.

Hyper,
It is the candiates job to get his point accross, or to engage enough to make people want to read more of his ideas.
Obama's speeches and press releases have failed to do so.

Except for those who already "Believe" in the "Change"... and they won't bother looking at them with anything remotely resembling a critical point of view.

I have found keeping my bicycle tires inflated helps my car mileage as well.

Word, epador. I'm getting snow tires for mine. :)

I got a separate bike for (snow or) mud. Never know around here when there's gonna be a mudslide or a tsunami. Snow here, however, is usually fleeting. Need chains for you boots when you have to resort to walking the frozen hills, however.

But I digress.