Quid Pro Quo? McCain's Reversal On Off-Shore Drilling

In April, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) proposed a gas tax moratorium from Memorial Day to Labor Day, a plan without economic (or budgetary) justification. Now we learn that in June McCain got a burst of oil company contributions after he called for lifting the ban on off-shore oil drilling.

Then there's the calculated flip-flop:

During his last run for the presidency, in 1999, McCain supported the drilling moratorium, and he scolded the "special interests in Washington" that sought offshore drilling leases. Yesterday, he announced that those very same "moratoria should be lifted" and proposed incentives for the states "in the form of tangible financial rewards, if the states decide to lift those moratoriums."

Yes, it's "the economy stupid" all over again. But both of these proposals are foolish: the gas tax vacation would do little to help families (check your tire pressure for immediate improvement in the same percentage ballpark) but would hurt the federal deficit by curtailing revenue. And offshore oil drilling sounds good, until you read the small print: the data.