This is my first diary and I hope to flesh it out when the text of his remarks in his townhall in Berea, Ohio becomes available.
I was just watching his townhall in Berea where his introductory remarks were about energy and the economy. Please join me over the fold for more.
Updated with thank yous & videos.
Continuing his newly minted attack strategy versus McC[ompl]ain, Barack continued to tie him to the Bush administration failed economics policies while simultaneously highlighting McBush's total lack of ideas about the economy. He also talked about McShame's lack of a health care plan etc. As usual he contrasted his detailed policies with McCain's juvenile campaign tactics. etc. But the part that got me jumping and hollering for joy behind my desk was this.
In discussing the the attempts by republicans to use his suggestion that individuals inflate their tires to the proper pressure in other to improve fuel efficiency as a weapon for ridiculing him, he said as I paraphrase:
The other day after laying out my energy plan for the next 10 yrs I was asked by a voter if there was anything I can suggest for individuals to do to help improve the energy situation. So I suggested that each person can inflate their tires to the recommended levels among other things. Now the republicans are going around telling people this was the central part of my energy policy, handing out little tire gauges etc. Now two things I'll like to say about that:
- They know it is NOT the central part of my energy policy. They know they are lying.
- They are making fun of an idea that a lot of experts have also recommended and suggested it could reduce our energy consumption by about 3%, which is more than John McCain's idea of drilling [he then pointed to his toes mocking McCain talking about drilling for oil "right here and now"] can ever provide.
He further said, so I don't know how they could be making fun of something that experts agree is a good idea. I mean it's like these guys take pride in ignorance! It's like they like being ignorant.
Ouch!!, That should leave a mark.
[UPDATE 1]: Look mama, I'm on the rec list with my first diary! This is awesome, wait, this is Baracky awesome. Thanks guys. You had no idea how nervous I was while putting this together. I nearly canned it. Ok, Ok, I'll like to thank my mama, my papa, my cyber hommies a.k.a. Kossacks. <music starts playing to usher him off stage....>
[UPDATE 2] Changed the title for brevity as suggested by Jyrinx
[UPDATE 3] Video courtesy of dotmike
Rough transcript of the first video below as requested by josephrainmound (all emphasis mine of course):
...And let me make a point, let me make a point about efficiency. Because my republican opponents they don't like to talk about efficiency.
You know, the other day I was in a town hall meeting and I laid out my plan for investing $15b a year in energy efficient cars, and a new electricity grid and all this ...
Somebody said, well what can I do, what can individuals do? So I told them something simple, I said you know what,
you could inflate your tires to the proper levels, and that if everybody in American inflated their tires to the proper levels, we would actually probably save more oil than all the oil we get from John McCain from right below his feet there <looks down, points to his feet in mockery of John MCCain and in a mocking tone says "whatever it is that he was gonna, wherever he was gonna drill> ... <audience applaud enthusiastically>.
So now the republicans are going around - this is the kind of things they do, I don't understand it- they are going around, they going around they're sending like little tire gauges, making fun of the idea as if this is Barack Obama's energy plan.
Now two things one, they know they are lying <pause> about what my energy plan is. But the other this they are making fun of a step that every expert says will absolutely reduce our oil consumption by 3 to 4%.
It's like, it's like these guys take pride in being ignorant. <audience erupts in laughter>
You know, I mean they think it is funny that they are making fun of something that is absolutely true. This is serous business. Instead of running ads about Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, they should go talk to some energy experts and actually make a difference.
[UPDATE 4] Thanks to our venerable video guru, JedReport via dotmike here is a video proving that McClueless is indeed playing politics with the tire pressure issue. Notice how he suggests things that individuals can do to help with energy efficiency, including turning off their lights. How is that better than the right tire pressure idea? This is a good one because McShame seems to forget [ssshh don't remind him] there is teh youtube out there.
[Update 5] Wow this is seems to be really setting the narrative right now because 2 of the top 5 headlines at CNN Ticker right now are about this. Fantastic.
[Update 6] Be the president for a day. What would you rather people do to improve energy efficiency?