A study in contrast

Transcript of her interview with Bill O'Reilly

O'REILLY: OK, oil prices. You want to suspend the federal gas tax, so does John McCain, Obama doesn't. But the Democratic Party is opposed to ANWAR drilling, you voted against nuclear energy seven times, and I'm saying to myself both parties have sold the folks out on energy. Where am I going wrong?
CLINTON: I think there is plenty of blame to go around. We have not done what we should have done. Consumers, drivers, political officials, the oil companies, you name it. We're not acting like Americans, Bill. We're not in charge, and I want to put us back in charge.
O'REILLY: So are you going to change your votes on drilling and nukes?
CLINTON: Well, here's what I'm going to do. In the short term I do want a gas tax holiday, but to pay for it by putting a windfall profits tax on the oil companies. There is no basis for them to have these huge profits. I also want to take on OPEC. OPEC is a cartel, a monopoly.
O'REILLY: They don't care what you say.
CLINTON: Nine of the thirteen biggest oil producing companies that are in OPEC are also members of the WTO. I would file complaints, I would also change the law so that citizens and businesses could file anti-trust actions. We're going to begin to hold them accountable. But at the same time we've got to change the was we behave, the way we drive.

So, let me see if I've got this right, her plan to reduce oil prices is comprised of the following:

• Gas tax holiday in the summer
• Raising taxes on oil companies
• File complaints to the WTO (World Trade Organization)
• File lawsuits against the oil companies
• Drive slower and drive less

Basic business sense tells you that 3 out of the 4 things in her plan would actually increase gasoline prices instead of lowering them. Compare that to the Romney plan for Energy Independence and the differences couldn't be more stark. Romney's plan includes:

• Oil drilling in ANWR Alaska (estimated to be the same amount of oil we'd import from Saudia Arabia in a 30 year period)
• Off-shore oil drilling
• Nuclear Power
• National Grade of Gasoline
• New Oil-Refineries
• Improved Smart-Grid Technology for Power Distribution
• Renewable sources, ethanol, biodiesel, solar, wind, and full exploitation of coal both solid and liquid.


One of these plans sounds like it would actually work, lowering oil prices as well as all other energy prices and be huge boost to our national economy. Or we could lower the speed limit and sue.

The other plans out there are the Obama plan and the McCain plan. At least I'm assumign they are out there, while Romney has "Energy Independence" as one of the main links on his website under his issues column- McCain does not. Although, he does list such important issues as "Human Dignity", "Environment" and "Ethics Reform". After some searching I did find something about oil on McCain's website under his link for the "McCain Economic Plan". It consists of:

• Gas tax holiday during the summer (same as Hillary)
• Stop filling the Strategic Reserve
• Ending Ethanol Subsidies

Wow. There is really little to argue with in McCain's oil ideas. There is also little that would change or give us energy indepence. In short there is really nothing there. While there isn't anything I would oppose, there is nothing worth really supporting. And, nothing that would have any long term affect on energy policy or pricing in this country.

That leaves us with Barrack Obama's plan. What is he calling for? Barrack's plan is actually marketed in the right direction with the description of "Set America on Path to Oil Independence".

• Double fuel-economy standards within 18 years


That's pretty much it. I'm serious. He has a section called "Set America on Path to Oil-Independence" and there is one bullet point underneath it! The amazing part is he doesn't explain how the technology would work - or how Detroit should double fuel-economy standards. Like they have some secret engine they haven't unveiled yet. Like the Detroit automakers secretly have a car that gets 68 miles per gallon and they haven't released it yet because they aren't interested in making BILLIONS of dollars and having the best selling car in America.

In case anyone out there is still wondering why conservatives are so adament that Mitt Romney be on the ticket, now you know why.