Davos Newbies

I gave money to Barack Obama in January and, as much as I’d like to give his campaign more, I thought I’d reached my personal limit. But so repellent has the McCain campaign been – and I’m sure it will get worse – that I clicked on my latest email from Obama to give more money. Not a lot, but doing my part.

Donate now.

I’m mystified by the growing public support for offshore oil drilling. I know it’s been a Republican talking point for weeks, and seems to be just about the only policy John McCain has on anything. But even the most rudimentary calculation reveals that opening up US coastal waters to more drilling will do nothing to gas prices – the hot issue of the moment – and will do remarkably little to supply many years down the road. As Andrew Leonard points out, it might juice Exxon’s share price a bit. Does a majority of Americans want to abandon any environmental sense for such a meaningless policy?