Obama ad responds on gas tax holiday

If Hillary thinks the Gas Tax Holiday is such are good idea, why has she not introduced legislation in the senate to make it happen... Oh, thats the problem, it's a dumb idea and she would rather just pander to us common folk.

Go Obama!

Bravo to Barack Obama for telling Americans the truth. It is not politics as usual with Obama. We have hope for a better tomorrow if Obama becomes the President.

Hillary and McCain are the same..pandering politicians.

WAY TO GO! It is amazing how being honest is setting him apart!

My biggest concern is that politicians tell you what they think you want to hear and do something different when they get in office. Who can you trust?

You GO Obama! No more pandering! How simply refreshing you are! Here's another Republican voting for you!

I did the math, and assuming gas prices remain the same for the entire summer, you would only have saved a few dollars, and then the price would go back up. But the way gas costs keep rising each week, you probably won't be able to afford even 1/2 a tank. A short term fix, but the cost of shipping everything is going up, because whether it goes by rail or truck, they run on diesel fuel which is now $4.50 in Chicago. The energy companies are getting rich, the distributors are getting rich, and so are the gas station owners. The price of diesel has almost doubled in the last 2 years, and the profits of the gas stations, distributors, and oil companies has also doubled.

I just Can't understand why all the Hill supporters don't open their eyes and see just how truly bad she is. Facts are facts and they are undisputed... SHE HAS A HISTORY OF DISHONESTY, NEGATIVITY, AND POOR POLICY. I feel like people only support her because she is a white woman, there really is no other reason why you would support her??? Do You like liars, negativity, people who play political games, she is JUST LIKE BUSH. I want a clinton supporter to give me a few serious substantial reasons why she should be president.

Barack has once again proved his bravery and integrity with the way he responded to the viscous attack made by this so called Christian Preacher. Barack heard, analized then responded instead of an instant off the wall response. Good Going Barack.

Reasons why Obama would be a great President:

1. Funded by people and is the first candidate to take substantially less money from the special interests.
2. Way less negative then the typical candidate- All Hill has done for the past 2 months is negative attack ads
3. More honest, doesn't play politics and political games-this gas tax is a perfect example.
4. Tells it like it is, gives reasons backed up with FACTs for his policy.
5. Will actually try to talk and negotiate with enemies without going to war, war as a last option.
6. Is not the typical washington game playing politician

So McCain and Clinton are trying to offer temporary relief and also saying we need to explore alternative energy. And we have Obama not trying to offer temporary relief and also saying we need to explore alternative energy.

I'll take the free money with alternative energy, please.

Thank you Obama for feeling my pain.

AP is reporting on that fact that in 2000, Obama voted three times to temporarily suspend the gas tax in Illinois. It eventually passed but the effect was "unclear." They report it like it is a bad thing to have tried something, seen that it did not work as expected, and oppose doing it again eight years later.

I don't expect my President to never make a mistake. I'd like him (or her) to learn from mistakes made and not repeat them.

Please, Obama is a fraud...If he understood economics he would understand that too much money already resides in DC and that the Feds need to loosen the harness during these tough times...

Oh, by the by, word to Obama: push to open the Arctic for oil exploration--you idiot!

He is NOT ready for prime time!

How's the Jeramiah friendship these days????

Obama's reported savings is very atypical for most Americans. To save $30 at 18.4 cents per gallon you would need to purchase 163 gallons of gas in that 6 month period. If your vehicle gets 25 mpg (many will get much less than this and some will get more) you will only be able to travel 4076 miles, which is the equivalent of 8152 miles per year. There aren't too many people that drive these few miles... I understand his point but he is a typical politician fudging the numbers as usual. Why do they just throw numbers out there without doing some real analysis.

Obama is spot-on this one. He is the one candidate who has made efficiency an integral part of his campaign since the beginning. Numerous energy analysts say suspending the fed tax could increase driving (demand) and actually raise overall prices. Political wonks observe that negotiating any sort of windfall profits compromise would be a long, drawn out affair, with the outcome unlikely considering the democrats only have a maximum 50 votes of the required 60 to pass. Plus who in their mind believes Bushwhacked would sign such a bill. Once again, Hillary suks up to her political base, the uneducated. Liberal McBush panders to a similar audience by proposing yet another spending program without any care or thought about financing it. Seems his geriatric style is "live it up today, I won't be here tomorrow to fix it!"

The gas tax is 18.4 cents per gallon. At a 20 gallon fill-up per week, Hillary would save me $3.68 cents a week or $70 bucks until Labor Day,

And what happens to the roads? Too bad the Minnesota primary isn't next week so she could explain her "holiday" in the shadow of the bridge that collapsed.

You notice she waited till McCain first proposed this silly idea, to give her cover, before she climbed aboard. It's a measure of Obama's integrity that he opposes it.

She wants to make up the gas tax loss with a windfall profits tax on the oil companies. Yup, that will pass Congress. And President Bush will surely sign that one in the Rose Garden.

Samantha Power was right. She is a monster, a pandering monster, who will say or do anything to get elected.

Gas is at $3.55 per gallon because we mismanaged Iraq, and because of the gambling in the future's market on oil. Until we end both, and cut our use of oil, we're going to pay the piper.

Now that Obama has shed Wright, maybe we can get back to keeping our eyes on the ball.

Oh dear oh dear oh dear I am 82 will I live to see these primaries over. How come it has not come out that a Clinton Supporter,Reynolds,arranged for Wright to speak before the Press Club.

Hillary couldn’t save money for her own campaign for the remaining primaries, I wonder how she is gonna save money for the American people from rising gas price?

obama is right on!!! i love his honesty. clinton just wants votes, she could care less about gas, i dont think she ever drives herself nowadays, and with 109 million in the bank, who would care??

In 2000, did you not read the article, Obama voted 3 times for a gas tax holiday in Chicago. Saved drivers $28.

The more you know about Obama, the more he comes across as a complete and utter fraud.

And the Boston Globe knows this!!!!

obama is right on!!! i love his honesty. clinton just wants votes, she could care less about gas, i dont think she ever drives herself nowadays, and with 109 million in the bank, who would care??

economic responsiblity is what we need than breaks that only hurts in the long term especially when one adds up the numbers.its time the citizens of this country actively & consciously parttake in its government...instead pointing fingers for others for accountability.there is no immediate fix because corporations want to protect their profits & it will only take the collective will of the people of "united"states of america to get the change they want

obama did same in Illinolis before. but he object it right now for politcal reason.

He just slam himself!!! what a politician

We used 14 million barrels of oil each day in 1973, when the US oil fields peaked out and have declined ever since. We now use 85 million barrels of oil each day. At current rates of use, we'll need 170 million barrels in less than a decade. At that rate, and by the time the Alaskan oil field is developed, the Arctic oil will last less than 2 months. Go rent A Crude Awakening.

I can't wait to cast my vote for Obama, but first I would like to comment/answer to FRED in Chicago: Dear Fred, you are a moron who clearly prefers to make incindiary and incorrect comments rather than check your facts. Yes, large oil companies are making larger profits these days, but to say that gas station owners are also capitalizing on this crisis is not only ludicrous, but it is unfair and remarkably stupid.

The private owners of gas stations get hit just as badly by the rise in prices and here's how: 1) Prices skyrocket - 2) motoring public becomes increasingly selective, seeking out the lowest station price (even if it means saving a penny a gallon ($0.20 on a twenty gallon fill) - 3) Gas station owners are forced to lower their prices to match their competetors' as they try to lure in customers in a market that is tightening its fuel purchasing belt. - 4) Station owners watch their own margins shrink, as they are being hit with the same high costs as the retail public - their prices are directly reflective of the wholesale price. Station owners would love nothing more than gas to be $1.00 a gallon so people would buy a whole ton of gas and there would be plenty of sales for everyone.

In conclusion: Fred, take a business course, or at least comment on only those things which you actually have knowledge. Oh, and by the way, you can apply the same logic to the distributors' margins (see your comment about them getting fat on the current oil prices) as they too do not set the prices.

Bill Clinton lied to the American people and had sex with another woman. Hillary says she wants to be the next Bill Clinton. I can only imagine the scandals we'd see if she was in the White House. Maybe Chelsea is really a product of Hillary and her secret lover, who is now a homosexual gas attendent?

Obama overstates the benefits of a tax holiday since he assumes that the entire 18 cent tax cut is captured by the consumer. In fact over the short term the oil companies will capture most of the tax cut. Obama says over 3 months the taxpayer will save 30 cents per day but economists say that in the beginning iy will be closer to 3-5 cents per day.

What is needed is energy conservation and improved fuel efficiency. There is no short term solution only a long term one.If the objective is to give middle class some relief, decreasing the income tax for that group with an increase in the higher income earners will give relief. That is the Obama way to handle the problem. That is solving real people's problems not a savings of between 3 and 28 dollars over three months.

The whole issue is moot since the senate and house will not pass it. Clinton is posturing about this tax issue and solves nothing. Doing something to say you're doing something, is in fact doing Nothing

if you have an 18 gallon tank, as my wife's van does, I would save only $272.16 over six months @ an 18% relief. I guess everyone on here is rich. I wish I had that money in my wallet.

But Obama has good ideas about long term solutions.

Why can't these people get together and share their ideas. This election is such a pissing match as most are.

What exactly is to prevent the oil companies from just raising the prices at the tank to take up the slack and then claiming that prices would have gone up even more if the gas tax had been there?

> Please, Obama is a fraud...If he understood economics he would understand that too much money already resides in DC and that the Feds need to loosen the harness during these tough times...

You're out to lunch there. It's basic economics that the supply is inflexible so a gas tax holiday would only help oil companies. Instead, Obama supports a middle class tax cut. In other words, a real solution that would give us more than $4 each.

> Oh, by the by, word to Obama: push to open the Arctic for oil exploration--you idiot!

Because no one cares about the environment? Ridiculous. We SHOULD be going nuclear, like every other sensible country. But someone will probably inject fears of 'meltdowns' into the equation now, even though we know what causes criticality and exactly how to design plants that are physically incapable of achieving it.

>Facts are facts and they are undisputed... SHE HAS A HISTORY OF
>DISHONESTY, NEGATIVITY, AND POOR POLICY

Dishonesty? Explain his reactions to Rev. Wright over the last six weeks.

Negativity? How else do you describe "bitter."

Poor Policy? He has the most liberal voting record since he's been in the Senate. He owns poor policy.

Let's do a few things:
1) Remove the 3 cents/gallon subsidy from gas tax to mass transit. Change the gas tax from a set cents / gallon to a sales tax, VAT, or some similiar idea set eventually to about 8% (i.e. you're paying about 15 cents out of $2)...but initially phase it in at a lower percentage to help out with the current pricing. Long term that gives us a good pool of money to invest in better highways.

2) Recognize the folley of ethanol, solar power, and wind power. If you need tax subsidies to be market competive today at $120 oil, you have no business in business. Stop throwing good money after bad. If solar and wind can stand without the tax help, good for them.

3) Nuclear plants. Reform the laws that scare off investment. Nuclear will accomplish what conservation never will -- giving us energy security, and reduce pollution. We should be looking to make 80% of electricity by nuclear within 15 years...and increase our use of electricity at the same time for heating, electrified freight rail, and plugin hybrid cars.

4) Drill for oil and gas. Natural gas can, much sooner then hydrogen, fuel cars. Even plugin hybrids. I'm not talking about middle of nowhere ANWAR. I'm talking the California coast, the Florida coast, the New England coast. There's no reason to doubt that George's Bank rivals the North Sea. This side of the Catskills have long known large natural gas reserves that are now economical to tap. Get 'em drilling boys.

5) Suspend the Strategic Petroleum Reserve expenditures during high prices. Duh. Actually, suspend that whole program. The only strategic reserves we need are for military needs -- let's develop the nuclear and natural gas resources to eliminate foreign oil dependence.

And if you've been adding up what I've said above...nuclear investments, drilling, eventually more highway spending, investing in electricfied freight, developing plugin hybrids -- those will all generate good jobs and keep money we're pumping overseas here at home. That will shore up the dollar by reducing how many we send out of the country.

Oh, wait...that's right...we need to not chose someone who talks specifics but about hope. At least if you believe he isn't what he is -- just another politician, speaking better then most in front of a teleprompter, but shows his naivity and immaturity when off the cuff.

This is how the gas tax works.
1. Government removes gas tax
2. Oil companies increase prices to take up the slack.
3. Government recaptures money as excess profits tax.

So, at best everything stays the same -- the gas tax is called something different. Probably in practice, though, the oil companies come out ahead as it's easier to track sales than it is to track profits. Sales are registered at the pump, profits go through creative accounting departments. Maybe for a few weeks consumers get a price break as the system adjusts.

Clinton and McCain pandering to uneducated folks.

Okay, people, once again we are dealing with wealthy politicians who could CARE LESS. The gas their motorcades use, it's paid for by us, the taxpayers - haven't heard that addressed yet. Even if they were to drive their own car to their "jobs" as senators, their gas would be paid for by us. There's no reason for them to enact real change because they aren't real people - they're all the same and you're beating each other up while ignoring the fact that at the end of the day, they're the haves and most of us are the have nots.

It's not a Republican problem, it's not a Democrat problem, it's a stupidity problem. We have to demand accountability of all our politicians and stop allowing them to just play with our money. Check their investments, you better believe that all of them are making money off the oil prices, all of them.

IF YOU PEOPLE THINK THAT A MAN WITH THE NAME OBAMA IS GOING TO HELP US AMERICAN PEOPLE YOU ARE THE ONE WITH THE VERY DUMB IDEA.. SO YOU ALL NEED TO LOOK INTO THIS MAN BACK GROUND EVEN HIS OWN PASTOR WHOM KNOWN SO-CALL OF AN MAN WHO SUPPOSE TO HAVE HAVE OF THE ANSWERS TO CHANGE.HIS OWN PASTOR IN OTHERS WORDS IS SAYING OBAMA DONT KNOW WHAT HE IS SAYING HE IS JUST TELLING AMERICANS WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR AND THaTS IT YOU ALL WILL SEE SO I SAY THAT TO SAY THIS GO...CLINTONS..I AM BEHIND THEM ALL THE WAY.KEEP DOING YOUR THING..WHO CARES ABOUT A MAN NAME OBAMA...

I'm very happy Obama took this stance. I just fear that the American public isn't smart enough to think long term. Hillary and McCain are playing the odds: give people the short term gimmick and you buy their vote. If we could invest in education, maybe we wouldn't be a country so easily duped.

Go Obama!

It is amazing how the Obama mongering army frequent these sites and pump up their propaganda.

Please - is Rev. Wright going to dictate gas prices, Mr. Obama

Converge toward the single flame that Obama is carrying. Transcend divisions and politics; leave Mccain and Hillary on the wayside. Sense the vastness of the sea inside your mind. This is your turn to shape America and the world in your vision.

Thanks Obama for pointing out the blatant pandering to the voters and who think she's doing them a big favor.
I'll tell them not to worry--she'll take it out of their salaries in HER health care plan!
She's a Fake, a Fraud, a Thief, and an abysmal disappointment as a Senator here. The thought of her bumbling about in the White House sickens me.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7007109937779036019
Oh yeah--THIS trial doesn't happen until AFTER elections.

Let's vote for the guy who tells people the truth. Barack Obama '08

Give me half a tank of gas,
or be truthful to me,
and tell me that your going to find a "new alternative fuel"
or "improve gas standards in automobiles",
something that every president has been doing and saying since Richard Nixon.
I thought that Obama was all about "CHANGE" in Washington.
I want change too, and I'll take it 18.4 cents a gallon thank you.

McCain has flip flopped on so many issues, the Dems will carve him up. But this takes the cake. He wants a "tax holiday" but has promised not to raise taxes. Well, when the "holiday" is over, he by design will raise taxes and prices could well be higher by then. They aren't going higher because of the summer driving season, McClinton, because summer isn't even here yet!

Supply is simply not coming on line fast enough as the world is adding hundreds of thousands of new drivers each year and cars are no more efficient.

McCain admitted he knows nothing about economics and it shows. The oil co's will simply charge .18 more for the summer. DUH!

This was a really shrewd ad for obama, taking a tough position, painting his opponents as the typical washington panderers that they really are.

McClinton and McCave are both US senators, let's see them simply propose their legislation. Such empty words, since neither will be PRESIDENT this SUMMER.

I'd laugh out loud if this weren't so pathetic.

Barack is a remarkable young man. Every parent should have their young ones watching and studying him throughout this campaign.

He is offering a "free" mentoring program to children and young adults, and that's worth gold.

Barack has shown extraordinary control in the situation concerning his former pastor, strength, and true leadership that some things just will not be tolerated, even from someone he highly values and still respects. This is the type of characteristic I want to see in my next president. This is the behavior I want my grandson to learn from.

We should begin thinking about who best represents children and youth today. Who will our youth relate to more, because it will be our children that will have to lead America's future. Therefore, we should choose Barack who will be their best mentor.

The young baby Hillary used in her 3 AM Ad, who now supports and campaign extensively for Sen. Obama, proves, our children are too, looking for someone that relates to them, and can lead them. Children have stress too, because they see it in their parents, therefore they seek hope and relief, just like their parents.

If we are not careful, we will paint our youth a picture that outright lying is acceptable, taking innocent lives through war for personal gain is honorable, unjustly destroying another person character for political reasons is admired, they should not worry about stumping out racisim and hatred, and lastly, they shouldn't hope for a better future.

In this election, my children, your children and grand children, and America's children are at stake. Let's for once do something for them.

VOTE BARACK OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

America you now have the chance to regain your place in the world. Do the right thing. Look carefully at each one of your candidates look at body language. look for honesty. not complexion for your future president. I am from the caribbean, looking in i can see the difference in each one. Set the pace for a new style of politic. An honest politician just don't pander to what the voters want to hear, but say it as it is. Remember we deserve the government that we vote.

Doug,

The problem is it isn't free money. Sorry, but trying to buy votes will not work. Have you ever taken a basic econ course? Gas is a finite supply....there is not more...it's capped for this summer. So, if the price declines, people will demand more and the price will rise. Any "savings" that the Federal government gives to you will go straight to the oil companies.

So, I guess you like corporate welfare...that's what it is...to ExxonMobil that made kajillions over the past year.

Good job!

To those of you who want the "free money":

Will you be the same ones who will be complaining about the potholes in your roads and the crumbling bridges?

Does it matter that thousands of construction workers will be laid off because the states have less money to pay for these projects?

Gimme, gimme, gimme.

Maybe it's time to collectively grow up and think about more than just where the beer money is coming from.

It's not even a question of whether the gas tax holiday is a "good idea" as a way to offer temporary relief. The fact is, it won't even provide temporary relief in the way that Clinton says it will.

(1) If she (who is not yet president) somehow imposes a windfall profits tax on oil companies, guess who they pass the cost of the tax to. You guessed it, customers!

(2) There's no possible way of actually imposing this tax anyway. So either (a) the plan cannot be implemented, or (b) you cancel the gas tax anyway, and bankrupt the Highway Trust Fund.

Sounds like a lose-lose proposition to me. Obama is right, and the other candidates know it, which is why they're both proposing it on the campaign trail but not actually doing anything about it in the Senate.

Everyone who's calculating their savings from a gas tax suspension is counting chickens that won't hatch. The price of gas is determined by supply and demand. In the summer months, production is maxed out, so supply can't really be increased. Since demand won't drop and supply won't increase, the price of a tank of gas shouldn't be expected to decrease. The only difference will be that those 18 cents will be going in the pockets of oil producers, rather than funding infrastructure improvements.

That's the big reason why economists are universally panning this plan.