John McCain's Oil Drilling Hoax

Photo from AMS Bow Fishing

I think it was P.T. Barnum who said, "You'll never go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people." Whether it was Barnum or not doesn't matter, because the sentiment is absolutely true. Dangle a bit of "truthiness" in front of the average American, and he'll swallow it whole.

Fortunately, this election season, it would seem that a few more than usual Americans are paying attention. I can only hope that's true, because the Frank Luntzian phrasing and logic are in overdrive at the moment, particularly as it applies to oil. We've got Newt Gingrich with his "drill here, drill now, pay less" campaign, and John McCain is trumpeting that line too.

Logically, it falls apart. But it makes a great soundbite. If you're one of those people who has swallowed that line though, take a read of this article, and then tell me if you still feel the same way.

[Excerpt]

McCain's Oil Drilling Hoax

Forced to cancel a planned visit to an oil platform off the Mississippi coast last week because of inclement weather — and the untimely leaking of hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil by a shipwreck in the vicinity — John McCain finally got his photo op at a Bakersfield derrick on July 28. Speaking on site, the Arizona senator delivered extraordinarily good news to the beleaguered gasoline-consuming public as he explained why we must drill offshore. . .

Read more at: Yahoo! News