Factcheck.org: Oily Words | Newsweek Politics: Campaign 2008

Clinton and Obama shade the truth as each claims to be tougher on oil companies than the other.

Apr 11, 2008 | Updated: 6:41 p.m. ET Apr 11, 2008

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Summary
Clinton and Obama are slamming each other and the oil companies in dueling radio ads in Pennsylvania. Both ads exaggerate and twist the facts. Both ads say, in effect, that the opposing candidate is reluctant to offend oil companies due to campaign donations. The truth is they both propose energy plans that are similar, and which the oil giants won't like.

Obama's ad claims, "Clinton's taken more from big oil and other PACs and lobbyists than any other candidate, Democrat or Republican." Actually, Clinton is fourth and Obama is a close fifth when it comes to donations from oil and gas industries.

Clinton's ad says that "she's the one who will make oil companies pay" to support her clean-energy initiatives. In fact, both candidates propose to spend $150 billion for energy improvements over 10 years, and both propose to pay for some part of that through higher taxes on oil companies.

Obama's ad says it is he who is "demanding higher gas mileage standards." Actually, both candidates voted for last year's increase in those standards and both candidates propose further increases in the future. Clinton's proposed increase is a bit higher than Obama's, in fact.

Clinton faults Obama for voting for the 2005 energy bill, which she calls "the Bush Cheney energy bill." But the compromise Obama voted for was supported by most Senate Democrats and lacked many of the administration's original proposals. As we've said before, it resulted in a small net tax increase on oil companies.

Obama's ad talks of "gas prices close to four dollars a gallon" in Pennsylvania. Actually, the statewide average for a gallon of regular gasoline is $3.32, according to the American Automobile Association.

1. Energy independence

2. Why we have terrorist & how to stop terror the easy way

1. War ends We win: when we pass a law that makes the minimum price of gasoline at the pumps: $1.75/gallon.

The ethanol investors do not build ethanol distilleries because monopoly OPEC would lower the price of crude/gasoline to rust out the billion dollar/million barrel a day ethanol stills.

Brazil is energy independent: ethanol; All their cars come built running on ethanol; The gas station fills the tanks with ethanol, no gasoline.

Archer Daniel Midland made millions in the USA selling $1.00 gallon ethanol in the 1990s;

That trumps any canard/invalid objection to ethanol. Use Cellulose ethanol, not corn ethanol.

Cellulose Ethanol energy independence in the USA, will balance the trade deficit, create full employment, bring down the price of fuel, break the monopoly on the pricing of fuel, balance the USA government budget, create less pollution, make the USA energy independent, and end the war because we will stop funding the bad guys everyday at the gas pumps.

With all the cars running on ethanol; the price of oil will collapse and the radical Moslem hordes will no longer have the funds we used to give them from gasoline sales to finance the war against us.

I built a distillery and converted my GM car to 160 proof ethanol by 1982; and tried 25 years to get the USA off of gasoline. Unless the strategy I am outlining is adopted, the war that is coming, regardless of who is elected, will make Vietnam look like a cake walk.

2. Sharia people are at war with The West because Sharia people believe Islam can not survive against: a free market economy with free speech to criticize Islam.

International law, has defined a set of war rule parameters that guarantee no war can be won by good guys and that guarantee nice long lasting wars with lots of weapons sales.

Generals: Patton. Eisenhower, Marshall , Sherman et al would all be war criminals under international law and Europe would be under Hitler; the American civil war would not be over if fought under the current rules; which, intentionally or unintentionally, are designed for a hundred year terror war.

Cut off terrorist infested countries/areas: no phones, no lights, no motorcars not a single luxury. No food, no water, no ships/airplanes in and out, no trucks cross their borders; nothing till they give up the terrorism. Better the terrorist should die right there than have a war where the world is terrorized for 100 years.

The leadership that sponsors these terrorist suicide murders are the Heads of state in Tehran, Riyadh, and Damascus.

Intelligence analyst: Getzel

Member Comments

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Posted By: Not stupid in Alabama @ 05/06/2008 3:12:08 AM

FatedGolem, a person can be an elitist and a liberal. An elitist believes that he knows what is better for people than they know or can understand themselves. An elitist believes he is smarter than the ones he wants to rule, that he knows what is best for them even if they don't agree with him. An elitist argues they are just too dumb to figure it out for themselves, which is why Obama's "cling to their guns and their religion" comments tagged him as an elitist, and his explanation that they don't know any better than to vote against their own best interests only made it worse.
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Posted By: Not stupid in Alabama @ 05/06/2008 3:05:50 AM

Suspending the gas tax would save over four and a half a billion dollars in trucking costs a year for manufactured goods, or more than a billion for the three months it is proposed. The Clinton proposal translates not only into savings on the cost of gas for consumers, but on the cost of everything being transported to the market where we buy it.

In a period of recession which threatens to get worse, making it possible for consumers to go on vacations, and helping American businesses cut costs so they can continue to employ their workers makes sense to me, especially if there is no loss to the highway trust fund.
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Posted By: getzel @ 04/21/2008 4:13:02 PM

1. Energy independence

2. Why we have terrorist & how to stop terror the easy way

1. War ends We win: when we pass a law that makes the minimum price of gasoline at the pumps: $1.75/gallon.

The ethanol investors do not build ethanol distilleries because monopoly OPEC would lower the price of crude/gasoline to rust out the billion dollar/million barrel a day ethanol stills.

Brazil is energy independent: ethanol; All their cars come built running on ethanol; The gas station fills the tanks with ethanol, no gasoline.

Archer Daniel Midland made millions in the USA selling $1.00 gallon ethanol in the 1990s;

That trumps any canard/invalid objection to ethanol. Use Cellulose ethanol, not corn ethanol.

Cellulose Ethanol energy independence in the USA, will balance the trade deficit, create full employment, bring down the price of fuel, break the monopoly on the pricing of fuel, balance the USA government budget, create less pollution, make the USA energy independent, and end the war because we will stop funding the bad guys everyday at the gas pumps.

With all the cars running on ethanol; the price of oil will collapse and the radical Moslem hordes will no longer have the funds we used to give them from gasoline sales to finance the war against us.

I built a distillery and converted my GM car to 160 proof ethanol by 1982; and tried 25 years to get the USA off of gasoline. Unless the strategy I am outlining is adopted, the war that is coming, regardless of who is elected, will make Vietnam look like a cake walk.

2. Sharia people are at war with The West because Sharia people believe Islam can not survive against: a free market economy with free speech to criticize Islam.

International law, has defined a set of war rule parameters that guarantee no war can be won by good guys and that guarantee nice long lasting wars with lots of weapons sales.

Generals: Patton. Eisenhower, Marshall , Sherman et al would all be war criminals under international law and Europe would be under Hitler; the American civil war would not be over if fought under the current rules; which, intentionally or unintentionally, are designed for a hundred year terror war.

Cut off terrorist infested countries/areas: no phones, no lights, no motorcars not a single luxury. No food, no water, no ships/airplanes in and out, no trucks cross their borders; nothing till they give up the terrorism. Better the terrorist should die right there than have a war where the world is terrorized for 100 years.

The leadership that sponsors these terrorist suicide murders are the Heads of state in Tehran, Riyadh, and Damascus.

Intelligence analyst: Getzel