Offshore Drilling vs Tires & Tune-Ups: Which Helps More?

McCain and the Republican talking heads have been, shall we say, critical of Obama's suggestion that keeping tires optimally inflated and getting our cars properly tuned up would save more oil than offshore drilling would produce. But guess what...they're wrong!

The Tire-Gauge Solution: No Joke

How out of touch is Barack Obama? He's so out of touch that he suggested that if all Americans inflated their tires properly and took their cars for regular tune-ups, they could save as much oil as new offshore drilling would produce. Gleeful Republicans have made this their daily talking point, Rush Limbaugh is having a field day, and the Republican National Committee is sending tire gauges labeled "Barack Obama's Energy Plan" to Washington reporters.

But who's really out of touch? The Bush administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 barrels per day by 2030. We use about 20 million barrels per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage by 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone else did, we could reduce demand several percentage points immediately. In other words: Obama is right.

Read the whole story (Time.com)

And yet, being wrong doesn't seem to keep them from saying it over and over again.

It's unfortunate, but not unexpected, that politicians seem much more interested in managing perceptions than dealing with truths.