BEREA, OHIO — They've bickered over war and peace, taxes and healthcare. Now Barack Obama and John McCain are at odds over an issue not quite so weighty: the tire gauge.
In a town hall-style meeting here, Obama defended his suggestion that motorists should properly inflate their car tires to improve gas mileage and cut oil consumption.
Republican John McCain has mocked the idea, with one of his aides handing out tire gauges emblazoned with the words "Obama's Energy Plan" aboard his campaign plane.
Obama pushed back hard Tuesday, accusing his rival's campaign of lying about the scope of his energy plan.
The Democratic candidate has also called for developing renewable fuels, curbing dependence on foreign oil and increasing production of plug-in hybrid cars.
"So now the Republicans are going around -- this is the kind of thing they do, I don't understand it -- they're going around sending, like, little tire gauges, making fun of this idea as if this is Barack Obama's energy plan," he said.
"Now, two points: One, they know they're lying about what my energy plan is. But the other thing is, they're making fun of a step that every expert says would absolutely reduce our oil consumption by 3% to 4%. It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant, you know? They think it's funny that they're making fun of something that is actually true."
The Illinois senator made two stops in this crucial swing state on a week in which he is making energy a focus. He is keeping an abbreviated schedule this week. On Friday, he is to leave for a weeklong vacation in Hawaii, where he spent much of his boyhood.
Often cool on the stump, Obama struck a combative note when he told the 2,700 people who came to see him here that McCain had unfairly characterized his position. Ridiculing him over tire gauges, Obama said, is shallow campaigning -- on the order of McCain's much-publicized TV ad likening Obama to celebrities Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.
"They need to do their homework," Obama said. "Because this is serious business. Instead of running ads about Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, they should go talk to some energy experts and actually make a difference."
Explaining how he came to recommend correct tire inflation, Obama said he was asked at a campaign stop what people can do on their own to use energy more efficiently.
"So I told him something simple," he said. "I said, 'You know what? You can inflate your tires to the proper levels.' "
