The King of Pointland

Tired of Being Right?

By now you've heard John McCain ridiculing Barack Obama for suggesting one way Americans could save gas:

In a town hall-style meeting here, Obama defended his suggestion that motorists should properly inflate their car tires to improve gas mileage and cut oil consumption.

Republican John McCain has mocked the idea, with one of his aides handing out tire gauges emblazoned with the words "Obama's Energy Plan" aboard his campaign plane.

A Republican presidential candidate mocks his Democratic opponent for making a sensible energy policy proposal. Why does this sound so familiar? Ah, yes, let us go back in time, all the way to the year . . . 2000!

''Let me ask you a question,'' Mr. Bush said to several hundred people inside a school in Arlington Heights, Ill. ''How many of you own hybrid electric-gasoline engine vehicles?'' His question was met by laughter.

''That's one of the criterion necessary to receive tax relief,'' he added, referring to an element of Mr. Gore's environment and energy plan that proposes to reward people who buy such vehicles with one-time tax credits of $1,000 to $6,000.

''How many of you own a rooftop photo-voltaic system?'' Mr. Bush then asked, ridiculing Mr. Gore's suggested tax credit for people who put solar panels on the roofs of their houses or businesses. ''If you had one, you'd get tax relief.''

Mr. Bush was selectively homing in on some of the more obscure tax cuts that Mr. Gore has proposed, and he seemed to revel mischievously in doing so.

Don't exit the time machine just yet. Set the dial ahead six years later, to April of 2006:

Fact Sheet: President Bush's Four-Part Plan to Confront High Gasoline Prices

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2. Promoting Greater Fuel Efficiency.

* The President Calls On Congress To Make All Hybrid And Clean Diesel Vehicles Sold This Year Eligible For Federal Tax Credits. An immediate way for drivers to get more miles out of each gallon is to choose a highly efficient hybrid or clean diesel vehicle. Hybrid vehicles run on the combination of a traditional engine and an electric battery. These twin sources of power allow hybrid cars and trucks to travel about twice as far on a gallon of fuel as gasoline-only vehicles. Clean diesel vehicles take advantage of advances in diesel technology to run on 30 percent less fuel than gasoline vehicles. More than 200,000 hybrid and clean diesel vehicles were sold in the United States last year - the highest sales in history. The Energy Policy Act President Bush signed into law expanded the tax credit for purchasers of hybrid and clean diesel vehicles to as much as $3,400, but these tax credits apply to only a limited number of hybrid and clean diesel vehicles for each manufacturer.

Our nation finally had a leader with the courage and foresight to champion tax credits for hybrids. And if we're (un)lucky, one day a President McCain might come up with an inexpensive, commonsense way for Americans to get better gas milage. In six years, perhaps. We have plenty of time — no pressure.