McCain Screws The Pooch

Hey, everybody. I apologize for the lack of updates over the last few days; I recently arrived back home after spending the summer in Los Angeles, and have taken a few days to settle back in. But I'm back, and so is John McCain, with another deceptive attack ad (this one, in my opinion, more shameful than any others he's put out thus far).

SUMMARY: McCain's new ad claims that, if elected, the senator will promote renewable energy. In truth, John McCain's proposed energy plan does not contain a single measure to advance, increase, or implement renewable energy.

More...

A couple days ago, McCain's campaign put out a modification of their infamous "Celebrity" ad (the one where McCain compared Obama unfavorable to Paris Hilton, apparently unaware of the campaign contributions he'd received from the Hilton family). This new version omits Paris, but replaces her with something even less credible.

The advertisement contains images of wind turbines accompanied by the following narration:

"Renewable energy to transform our economy, create jobs and energy independence, that's John McCain."

So John McCain is for renewable energy. Surely, he has some sort of proposed policy in his energy plan that reflects this, right? Otherwise, it would just be an empty, meaningless, and intentionally deceptive claim.

John McCain's energy policy, as posted on his website, offers no solid plans for furthering renewable energy. It does offer quite a bit in the way of furthering other energy sources: "John McCain Will Commit $2 Billion Annually To Advancing Clean Coal Technologies," and "Will Put His Administration On Track To Construct 45 New Nuclear Power Plants By 2030 With The Ultimate Goal Of Eventually Constructing 100 New Plants." However, coal and nuclear power, as many people can tell you, are not renewable sources of energy.

The closest that the website comes to giving specifics on renewable energy is the following paragraph:

"John McCain Will Encourage The Market For Alternative, Low Carbon Fuels Such As Wind, Hydro And Solar Power. According to the Department of Energy, wind could provide as much as one-fifth of electricity by 2030. The U.S. solar energy industry continued its double-digit annual growth rate in 2006. To develop these and other sources of renewable energy will require that we rationalize the current patchwork of temporary tax credits that provide commercial feasibility. John McCain believes in an even-handed system of tax credits that will remain in place until the market transforms sufficiently to the point where renewable energy no longer merits the taxpayers' dollars.

Let's take a look at that again. "To develop these and other sources of renewable energy will require that we rationalize the current patchwork of temporary tax credits that provide commercial feasibility." What does that mean? There's nothing there about increasing funding for research and development of renewable energy. No mention of setting deadlines regarding widespread implementation of renewable energy, or putting in place rigid requirements for energy companies. What does it mean, "to rationalize the current patchwork of temporary tax credits that provide commercial feasibility?"

I haven't the slightest idea what that means. Neither does FactCheck.org. Neither does Frank Maisano, an energy company spokesman:

"I don't even know what that means," Frank Maisano told us when we read that line from McCain's plan. "It means that they don't want to tell people what that means."

However, I do consider myself an educated man; furthermore, as a philosophy major at UC Berkeley, I spent four years dissecting arguments and reducing them to their very core. So, for the sake of clarity (and truth in advertising), let's try and figure out what exactly McCain's stance on renewable energy is (other than that he "believes" in it, which is an empty claim. You can believe in something without doing a damn thing about it, as is proven by the fact that I believe in maintaining a responsible workout schedule).