Pander Bears

Difficult times call for … well, pandering to voters.

Hillary Clinton and John McCain — who lately seem to be in lock-step on too many issues for anyone's comfort — have proposed a gas tax holiday to lessen the toll on the working class during the peak driving months known as summer.

Since McCain stands little chance at the presidency, and since wife Cindy doesn't even allow him to drive, we'll focus on Clinton's plan. I have to point out, though, that McCain will be 72 in August. Most of our elderly have their licenses taken away by that age. See where I'm going here …

At this point, we must now assume Clinton believes Indiana voters to be a bunch of rubes. She clearly expects — and this only harkens to the old-style politics that caused former Bill Clinton DNC chair appointee and Hillary supporter Joe Andrew to jump ship today and endorse Barack Obama — that Hoosiers can be easily fooled with flashy yet empty solutions. Her pandering is so rife with pitfalls and impossible circumstances as to make it truly laughable … and offensive.

What Clinton doesn't tell voters is simply cutting the tax would result in the loss of about $9 billion, funds that would otherwise go into rebuilding our nation's transportation infrastructure. And it would mean the loss of about 300,000 jobs.

Clinton has tried to temper those facts by offering another empty proposal with a populist touch: Levy a windfall profits tax on the oil industry to supplant lost revenue for roads and bridges.

No Republican will ever sign on to a windfall profits tax, and Clinton surely knows this. Without bipartisan support, it's dead in the water.

But the discussion shouldn't even go that far. Economists are saying the oil industry cannot meet the resultant increased demand, which means higher prices at the pump that ultimately offset the gas tax holiday savings.

The only beneficiaries, it seems, would be Clintons's vote total and oil industry coffers.

Her proposal was panned in editorials today, including the The Washington Post and New York Times.

AND THEN EVERYONE PILED INTO THE CLOWN CAR

My extremely short morning commute invariably includes listening to Bob & Tom — I like to start my day with a good laugh, though they don't always oblige. 

I was surprised when I clicked over to 94.7 yesterday and heard Clinton on the line, riding shotgun with a Hoosier sheet metal worker whose budget is taking a hit at the pump.

The contrived stunt brought about a media circus and Clinton was in three ring mode. She might regret that now.

Since the sheet metal worker's car wasn't big enough to handle the secret service entourage, he had to borrow his employer's massive, gas-guzzling pickup. Then he had to drive 45 minutes to pick Clinton up at her hotel.

Clinton spent the commute chatting up Bob & Tom and ignoring her chauffeur, except when they stopped at a predetermined pump at a predetermined gas station to fill up. But then she mostly posed for the cameras and talked up the benefits of her proposal while answering to when she last bought gas for herself. Nineteen ninety-never, I'm guessing.

Apparently she's never been inside a convenience store, either.

The best shot, though, was Clinton's lead truck rounding a bend with her caravan of low-mileage SUVs in tow. Maybe she should stop publicity hounding and give Hoosiers the money she saves in gas. If her campaign had any money, she just might.