Ignorance You Can Believe In

From the New York Times:

Senator Barack Obama took a poke at his Republican opponent on Tuesday, saying that for Senator John McCain to talk of a "psychological benefit" from expanded offshore drilling is to define that policy as a gimmick.

Mr. Obama was responding to remarks that Mr. McCain made on Monday in Fresno, Calif., when he observed that even though the nation might take years to benefit from offshore drilling, "exploiting those reserves would have psychological impact that I think is beneficial."

Mr. Obama seized on those comments while speaking at a town hall-style meeting here.

" 'Psychological impact'?" Mr. Obama said. "In case you're wondering, that's Washington-speak for 'It polls well.' "

The "psychological impact" to which McCain refers is quite simple: The expectation of greater oil supplies in the future would make it more attractive to sell oil now, when supplies are restricted and prices are high, thereby bringing prices down in the short term. Is Obama really too ignorant to grasp this, or does he just think voters are?

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[good point: anyone really think any known alternative energy will be matured to replace oil in less time than simply bringing more on-line? So why doesn't the 'effect will take years' argument apply to them?]
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