Obama's Tune-Up Misfire

ALBANY, NY (08/04/2008)(readMedia)-- Barack Obama's ridiculous assertion that properly inflated car tires and well-tuned engines are the best answer to our nation's energy crisis underscores just how seriously out-of-touch the freshman Senator is when it comes to the very real problems facing middle-class Americans.

Soaring energy costs are hitting businesses and families in the pocketbook: unemployment is creeping upward and inflation is eroding the already overstretched buying power of the millions of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck.

Recent polls show that the vast majority of Americans support maximizing our nation's domestic offshore oil supplies using the most modern, environmentally sound drilling technologies.

Unfortunately, by a mere one vote margin, the House Democratic Majority sided with the radical environmentalist lobby and heeded Speaker Nancy Pelosi's call to adjourn for summer vacation without addressing the Republican demand for comprehensive energy legislation, centered on increased domestic oil drilling.

America needs to move toward energy independence with a combination of conservation, further exploration of our domestic natural resources - particularly the vast offshore oil reserves that federal law currently places off-limits to exploration - and development of new technologies like solar and wind power.

John McCain provides a comprehensive road map to get there, while Barack Obama's plan for energy independence doesn't go much further than asking every American to add checking the pressure on their car tires to their daily routines.

The choice is clear: John McCain is the real leader America needs in order to achieve energy independence.