Conservation vs. drilling

How tire pressure gauges figure in the energy debate

“The latest symbol John McCain is using to needle Barack Obama is a tire pressure gauge,” said Foon Rhee in The Boston Globe’s Political Intelligence blog. Democrat Obama recently encouraged Americans to conserve energy by making sure their tires are properly inflated, and his Republican rival's campaign promptly began passing out tire gauges to donors and journalists to mock Obama’s energy policies.

“Gleeful Republicans” are having a field day, said Michael Grunwald in Time.com, saying Obama is “out of touch” because he’s urging Americans to inflate their tires properly and get regular tune-ups. But expanded offshore drilling would boost oil production—decades from now—by enough to meet just 1 percent of demand, while proper tire pressure can improve gas mileage by 3 percent. “Who’s really out of touch?”

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