On CNN a few minutes ago, an extraordinary anecdote from an Indiana voter:
My wife for instance is a nurse, she quit her job because it's cheaper to stay at home with the kids than to pay for daycare and gas.
And this from CNN's recent poll:
A national CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Friday found that 49% of respondents think the economy is now the most important factor in deciding how they will vote in the upcoming presidential election. That's up from 44% in February and 29% in December.
And what about the economy is the biggest concern? Rising prices, specifically, rising energy costs.
Inflation worries grow: Nearly half - 47% - of respondents said the most worrisome economic problem is inflation, more than doubling the number who said the housing crisis was the top concern. Only 19% said the housing was their biggest economic concern, and 13% said it was unemployment that worried them the most.So at a basic level, Clinton is on strong political ground using this as a wedge issue but the political play wouldn't have been complete without a little help from Obama himself: he needed to oppose it and he does. Now, putting aside for a moment the actual merits of the gas tax holiday concept and looking just at the politics of it, look at both candidates' rhetoric from the stump today (as seen on CNN) and you tell me who's winning this politically."It's not surprising consumers are expressing concern, because energy prices have risen quite a bit," said Wachovia economist Mark Vitner. "Just look at how much consumers are spending on necessities." [...] And when it comes to rising prices, soaring energy prices worried Americans the most, with 68% saying it was their top concern. Twenty-three percent said the escalation in food costs was their biggest worry.
Barack Obama:
Some of you might have seen Senator Clinton is spending a lot of money on a television ad that attacks me for not supporting her and John McCain's idea for a gas tax holiday for the summer...Now, keep in mind, this is an idea that will save you altogether half a tank of gas. 30 cents a day for 3 months. That's if the oil companies don't simply jack up their price to fill the gap as they've done when this was tried before. Does anyone here really trust the oil companies to give you the savings when they can just pocket the money themselves. There's not an expert out there who believes that this is going to work. There's not an editorial out there that has said this is actually the answer to high gas prices. In fact, my understanding is today Senator Clinton had to send out a surrogate to speak on behalf of this plan. And all she could find was, get this, a lobbyist for Shell Oil to explain how this was going to be good for consumers. It's a Shall game, literally.
Hillary Clinton:
You've probably heard the debate about the gas tax because my opponent is running ads and holding press conferences attacking my plan to give you a break this summer. It's important to me to come up with solutions, and in a campaign sometimes that's hard because of the back and forth in the campaign. But it is important too for you what it is I propose and what I would do. There is no contradiction between trying to provide immediate relief and having a longterm vision and a plan for what we must do to lessen our dependence on foreign oil and to be moving toward more homegrown fuels. So here's what I propose: I want the oil companies to pay the federal gas tax this summer.
Both candidates are casting oil companies as the real villain but Hillary Clinton wins on points in this regard by framing her proposal as the oil companies paying the tax instead of consumers. But Obama wins points by conflating Hillary Clinton's and John McCain's plans, lumping Clinton and McCain together and himself as their opponent. But ultimately, Clinton comes out ahead because this issue both gives her the opportunity to present herself as the fighter and the candidate of solutions that she's been campaigning as for months and simultaneously forces Obama to go on defense and to be the anti-solutions candidate, the candidate who is on the attack, which is the exact opposite of the brand Obama has created for himself. In other words, she's driving the debate and strengthening her own brand while weakening his.
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