Gas tax holidays in the sun

Policy has finally intruded on the 'who's your spiritual daddy' debate that is our presidential race.

Hillary Clinton boldly said 'me too' to John McCain's idea of a gas tax holiday starting in less than a month, which would give us all two extra dimes to rub together per gallon. At least, until Big Oil raises prices another two dimes.

Barack Obama, meanwhile, once again decided to treat American voters like adults. Chump change and pandering. And I'm sure it'll end this debate just as it ended the Rev. Wright debate.

And y'know, maybe it shouldn't, In DC or New York or out here on the West Coast, where salaries are larger and distances shorter, none of this seems like much.

But out in the vast heart of American where people make average American salaries of 40K or 50K, people are seriously being hurt by gas prices. If you live in Billings, you can't hop a bus to the next town for pocket change. They need help now.

So when Obama dismisses this as pandering, and says to Americans they'll have to wait until a new president is elected and takes office and gets his stuff together and can enact a new long-term energy policy, and then let's wait for that to take effect...

He risks being labeled out of touch or, dare I say it, elitist. And dismissed because we all know Washington will never do something real or effective.

Of course, the real pandering here is that candidates Clinton and McCain talk about this holiday starting very soon. But senators Clinton and McCain haven't even filed a bill. No doubt the candidates will blame the senators for failing to act, and call for change....