Sunday, June 22, 2008

Obama. A Loophole. A shield.

Obviously Barack stopped by here recently and picked up a few good ideas. Today the interwebs are alive with talk of him ending the "Enron Loophole," in an effort the thwart the energy speculators run on the oil market.

A couple of noteworthy details I didn't see mentioned very often:
  • The Enron Loophole (click here!) was created by Enron Lobbyists with the help of Wendy Lee Graham and her husband Phil Graham.
  • Wendy Lee Graham, Clean Air's "Villain of the Month," back in 2002, was on Enron's board of directors while it stole about $40B from consumers.
  • Phil Graham is John McCain's "economic brain," since McCain is a self-confessed economic dunce.
  • Currently, McCain is defending the Enron Loophole, created by his advisor's wife.
  • Aside from allowing speculators to continue to rape and pillage through manipulation of "market uncertainties, McCain's other clever answers to combating rising energy prices are: eliminating subsidies for oil companies (which will force the oil companies to pass additional costs on to the consumers) and a Clinton-esque summer hiatus on gas taxes (which will rob much-needed funding from the various highway commissions and departments which depend upon the tax money throughout the year.)
So points go to Obama for the only candidate currently planning to do something that will actually affect the prices at the pump.

However, I have to ding him for his choice on his new "campaign seal." The Weekly Standard suggests it is illegal. I suggest it is an unnecessary act of hubris. You can pick up a body suit and a surf board, but that doesn't make you a surfer. I certainly get the hint, Obama's keen to stand behind the REAL seal, so he's practicing or giving us a taste of what's to come. But it's over the top and smacks of arrogance. For that, I say: Bad form, sir. Bad form.

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