Obama calls gas tax relief a political ploy, talks up pocketbook issues in Indiana
The Democratic contender says the move would save people about a half a tank of fuel, assuming the oil companies don't raise prices. 'And this is what passes for leadership in Washington,' he tells audience.
indianapolis -- Barack Obama cited an escalating argument over a proposed gas tax holiday as evidence that his Democratic presidential rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is prepared to tout dubious policy if it might help her win an election.
Speaking to an audience at a high school today, Obama said the proposal -- which also is backed by the presumptive GOP nominee, John McCain -- would save people the equivalent of half a tank of gasoline. That assumes the oil companies don't raise prices to fill the gap left by the tax holiday, he said.
"So this is not about getting you through the summer, it's about getting elected," Obama said. "And this is what passes for leadership in Washington -- phony ideas, calculated to win elections instead of actually solving problems."
In the weekend before the primaries in Indiana and North Carolina, Obama also sought to beat back perceptions that he is out of touch with voters. Campaigning here, Obama was introduced not by a politician but by an Amtrak machinist worried about losing his job. The candidate also took the stage briefly with his wife, Michelle, and two young daughters.
Clinton and Obama recently have aired TV ads critical of one another's positions on a temporary suspension of the 18.4-cents-a-gallon tax. Clinton favors eliminating the federal tax over the summer to give motorists some relief at the pump; Obama decries the plan as a stunt that will yield little to no savings to consumers.
Economists, environmentalists and other experts also have denounced the idea, saying that it would favor the oil industry rather than consumers.
Obama mentioned here that Clinton's proposal had been praised by a Shell Oil lobbyist. His campaign later said that he was talking about Steve Elmendorf, a Clinton supporter.
A Clinton spokesman, Phil Singer, countered that Obama had supported a gas-tax suspension when he served in the Illinois Legislature. The Clinton campaign also noted that she would pay for the tax suspension through a windfall profits tax on oil companies.
"Considering that Sen. Obama voted to suspend the gas tax three times when gas cost less than $2 a gallon -- and has an energy lobbyist chairing his Indiana campaign -- it's hard to take his latest criticisms very seriously. Sen. Obama wants Americans to pay the gas tax, but Sen. Clinton thinks the big oil companies should pay it this summer."
