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Well, at least one member of the Senate, Hillary Clinton will shortly be able to go back to her original and more science based position. She will no longer have to pander to the citizens of Iowa as she will be going back to being a full time Senator from New York. This is not an endorsement of Barack Obama but merely a recitation of an obvious reality.
Don't expect any changes in the positions of Obama and McCain until safely after the election. If Obama wins, he will begin looking to the next Iowa primary four years hence. McCain has said he would be a one term president. I doubt that he would follow through unless he dropped dead.
For a great many issues of lesser importance for the future of the planet, I can be forgiving due to the necessities of politics. Given the disastrous consequences, however, that will occur from a commitment to ethanol, especially corn, I think we should be very leery of politicans like Obama or McCain which promise a new era of hope and integrity.
Our political system, by its very nature is corrupt and undemocratic. I resent the influence of the denizens of Iowa who just feed the parochial nature of our politics which does not serve the interests of the general public of the U.S. or the citizens and other inhabitants of the planet.
On the margin, I think we should expect a more science based government for the next four years regardless of who is elected. Whether or not it will be sufficiently science based to avoid catastrophe remains to be seen.
I think cynics have long felt in relation to Mr Obama's calls for change: 'la plus ca change....'
Still, it takes some doing to make a virtue out of inexperience.
Don't expect any changes in the positions of Obama and McCain until safely after the election. If Obama wins, he will begin looking to the next Iowa primary four years hence.
I just did an interview with a major newspaper on Obama. Sounds like they are starting to kick the tires, because this didn't sound too friendly. I said that I was disappointed in some of his moves in the energy/environment sphere. However, I can't seriously fault him for supporting corn ethanol. He comes from a corn producing state. He is running for president, and that means he has to make a good showing in Iowa.
The truth of the matter is that if he had not been pro corn ethanol, he wouldn't be where he is. That is the political reality. But hopefully, he will have good advisors and he will be willing to make unpopular decisions if necessary. Because I have thought for months that he would be our next president. (I got into a funny argument with my father-in-law at Christmas who asserted that there was no way he could beat Hillary. I said "Just watch.")
I've been uncomfortable with Obama's willingness to play to corn ethanol and coal producers as well, but the political necessity of doing so is rather obvious, and there are no contenders with clean hands on that score...
FWIW, I happened to catch a RARE question about energy on the CNBC-sponsored Democratic debate several weeks back, and Obama's response was the only one that sounded right to me. He said that the low-hanging fruit was clearly efficiency and conservation. I don't think I've heard any of the other candidates say that. He may be cozy with corn and coal, but at least he seems to "get" it about the big picture on energy.
I agree: I think we're going to be an Obamanation.
(No, I can't take credit for that coinage, and I don't know who should rightly get it.)