Impact of oil and energy security on US Elections

[cyberianpan]

NYT

But it’s not merely the foreign policy consensus that is shifting Obama-ward. The Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens has now joined another high-profile McCain supporter, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in knocking the McCain nostrum that America can drill its way out of its energy crisis. Mr. Pickens, who financed the Swift-boat campaign smearing John Kerry in 2004, was thought to be a sugar daddy for similar assaults against the Democrats this year. Instead, he is underwriting nonpartisan ads promoting wind power and speaks of how he would welcome Al Gore as energy czar if there’s an Obama administration.

Washington Post
Campaign contributions from oil industry executives to Sen. John McCain rose dramatically in the last half of June, after the senator from Arizona made a high-profile split with environmentalists and reversed his opposition to the federal ban on offshore drilling.

This is hotting up as an issue and on my reading of it so far I think McCain has mis-stepped and his energy policy is going to get him into trouble.

cYp

[gendjinn]

Energy and the economy will be the primary factors in November with Iraq and the wars taking a bit of a back seat. Thing is neither the gas tax holiday nor drilling everywhere are gaining any traction with the electorate. Obama's play on the gas tax pandering went over very well, especially when McCain and Clinton acted like the electorate were idiots incapable of spotting vapid pandering when it was served up to them.