The Intersection

A plank in McCain's platform would be history by election day

For the reader exhausted by coverage of the presidential race, I have good news. While this post is about a proposal by U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona and was announced under the auspices of his campaign for the presidency as the presumptive Republican nominee, it has little to do with the election.

As explained on BusinessWeek.com on April 15, McCain's call to eliminate the 18.4-cent federal gasoline tax and 24.4-cent federal diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day will, in fact, have sunsetted more than two months before voters cast their ballots in November. CNNMoney.com staff writer Steve Hargreaves, on April 15, notes the tax brings in $38 billion in revenues a year for roadwork. McCain says his proposal would offset the losses in revenue with funds from the general budget. Hargreaves reports James Kvaal of the Center for American Progress has some kind words for the proposal, as it would shift the tax burden off of the working class and middle class.

Tom Curry of MSNBC says the gas tax holiday and another McCain proposal, to stop deferring gasoline to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve so supplies available to consumers would be greater, are retreads of proposals by 1996 presidential candidate Bob Dole, 2006 Senate candidate Bob Menendez, who won his race in New Jersey, and former President Bill Clinton in 1996. To which I say, so what? McCain is seeking to win political office, not the Pulitzer for fiction. Originality is not a virtue and results are what matter.

Unfortunately, McCain and Democratic candidates Senator Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois generally has mixed records on consideration of supply and demand in the oil and gas markets. McCain favored a measure in 2002 to raise mileage standards, which would alleviate demand, but opposes drilling particularly in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an approach which would increase supply.