Obama's refusal to pander on the gas tax holiday crap reaffirms my support for him

[cali]

because it's so fucking easy for a politician to pander on something like this little charade. To many, maybe most voters, the tax holiday bullshit looks like a neato thing. They think that the politician proposing it is actually looking out for them. It's a complete fucking boondoggle or boonswaggle or whatever that is. The savings are negligable to the vast majority, and it may not save anyone a dime. Does anyone here actually believe that big oil wouldn't jack up prices just to make more profit? Who's gonna stop that? Hilly and what army?

Obama could have gone along. He could have proposed the same cynical shit as hilly and her ideological twin in this matter, JMac. It's much harder to explain to people why you're against something as nice sounding as a tax holiday then to simply go along with it. And yes, I think it will cost him votes. Particularly in Indiana where this is playing out on the ground. He's sticking to principle here in much the same way as he did in PA when he refused to pay street money. That too would have been the convenient and profitable way to go re pandering to voters.

Obama certainly isn't perfect, but his position on this is absolutely the right one. Hill, as always goes for the cheap pander. I find it disgusting. She thinks voters are stupid. It's a calculated and cynical bet, and she's probably correct in her assessment of enough voters to benefit from it: It's still the wrong thing to do and it still sucks.

So a cheer or two for Obama on this one. He's doing the right thing not the easy, sleazy thing.

[NJmaverick]

1. He showed TRUE LEADERSHIP, something neither Hillary or McCain possess

[thoughtcrime1984]

2. Yep, it'd be OUR money (gov't money) going straight to the corporations

Only the less informed would see it as otherwise. Of course, she plays everyone for rubes, and hopes they will swallow this candy-coated turd just like many have swallowed previous turds.

[cali]

4. I'm afraid the less informed are the majority and

I'm OK with him losing votes for taking a principled stand. Something I have never seen hilly do during this entire campaign.

[Bensthename]

3. Obama is too smart and honest for America.

He won't pander.
He won't swiftboat.
He won't run adds showing war and try to scare you for your vote.
He won't lie to get a better story of the day.

Maybe we aren't ready for such a great person.

[splat]

12. They said the same about Adlai Stevenson and George McGovern

[sniffa]

5. I seem to remember this "gas tax holiday" coming up every 4 years

Do people really have that short a memory?

[cali]

6. hi, sniffa. In a word, yes. Particularly now

when people are desperate.

[sniffa]

13. Series!!1!

Without doing a search, I remember it being LOUDLY ridiculed here on DU just 4 years ago. :shrug:

[Cali_Democrat]

7. Obama just needs to hammer home the fact that McCain is for it

[splat]

8. I gather you're not charging groceries because gas ate your food budget

You're disgusted at giving people a little breathing room. How abstractly noble of you.

[cali]

10. Oh fucking please don't give me that lying crap.

I have a 13 gallon tank. If I filled it once a week, I'd save less than 3 bucks a week. How would that help anyone. And yesterday I was talking to a guy I know that just got laid off at the mill for a month and is temporarily working at my friends nursery. He drives 40 miles round trip in a beater. He's scraping by and he thinks it's bullshit. Smart guy.

[splat]

11. If you commute 50 miles and have 3 kids, you'll take every break you can get

It doesn't presage a compassionate presidency to ignore people's immediate needs. Or do you only know that one guy who's laid off, and immediately re-employed by a friend's business? Must be nice...

[cali]

14. I lilve in a very poor area where people commonly have

to travel 60 miles round trip to get work. And sorry, this bit of pandering shit won't help practically anyone. Why the hell do you think it's being so roundly slammed by economists? Because it's a cheap swindle. Nothing to stop the oil companies from simply raising prices to fill that little void, and not enough relief to help anyone. And sorry, the guy who my friend hired for $9.00 an hour for 3 weeks, isn't someone who's terriblly lucky. And shove your "you're an elitest" bullshit. it's simply hillarian slime. typical hillbot crap.

[splat]

15. Democrats traditionally help working people

The economists I've heard criticize this assume people will buy more gas if it's cheaper. How can economists assume a binge in pleasure driving when the food budget is going to gas and the groceries go on plastic? Maybe economists as a group have more money, and that's what they would do.

And shove your "you're an elitest" bullshit. it's simply hillarian slime. typical hillbot crap.

I've been a Democrat for 40 years, and around here since early on. I've only experienced this blanket verbal bullying from Spiro Agnew and Freepers until Obama's run, never from other members of my party.

It's part of why I don't support Obama. He seems only to have unified you against us.

[Hope And Change]

9. K & R!

:kick: