Maybe you've missed the recent flap in the Presidential campaign over Senator Obama's recommending people properly inflate their tires to be safer and save fuel. If so, count yourself lucky.
Here it is in a nutshell: Senator Obama, as part of a week long push to promote his energy package (which is lacking by the way), mentioned that people should check the pressure in their tires to be safe and because it promotes fuel efficiency. Simple, right?
Wrong.
The McCain campaign, as if they had nothing else to talk about, have latched on to it as if it were Ford's slip up in '76. They have had surrogate speakers out attacking him (most notably Governor Tim Pawlenty, auditioning for the role of attack-dog Vice President), have issued statements and press releases constantly and even have tire gauges printed to hand out to donors and members of the press.
There are two problems with this strategy. First of all, Senator Obama is right, as anyone who took a driver safety course knows, or is a NASCAR fan. At the risk of sounding imperious, I will avoid making any jokes about Senator McCain here.
The bigger problem is what this type of thing does to the entire process. If you ever wonder why more people don't vote, or won't take you seriously as a candidate or even an elected official, it is this behavior. Senator McCain, the "maverick" of the U.S. Senate, was thought to be the kind of candidate who would avoid the political posturing. Who would talk about issues, whether it meant winning or loosing. I mean, his bus is the "Straight Talk Express" - is this what "straight talk" has become?
I'm not saying he won't win, because you can certainly win the race doing just this. My point is if in this election we have a chance to move the country forward, or stagnate, it seems this kind of campaigning certainly falls towards the latter. If you want people to listen again, and believe again you have to first give them something worth listening to and believing in. Tire gauge politics just won't cut it.
