But who’s really out of touch? The Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points. In other words: Obama is right.

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1829354,00.html?cnn=yes

Speaking to a crowd in Berea, Ohio, Obama went off on a riff, laughing at Republicans who are isolating his call for tire inflation as the linchpin of his energy plan. After noting that his energy policy has a lot more to it, Obama circled back to wonder why Republicans were choosing to mock an idea, small though it was, that could actually help matters.

“Now two points,” Obama told the crowd. “One, they know they’re lying about what my energy plan is, but the other thing is they’re making fun of a step that every expert says would absolutely reduce our oil consumption by three to four percent. It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/05/obama-calls-mccain-out-af_n_117142.html

Over a couple hundred million vehicles, those shavings add up. The Department of Energy estimated in 2005 that U.S. motorists wasted 1.2 billion gallons of gasoline a year from driving on underinflated tires — roughly 61 million barrels of oil.

By comparison, the U.S. Department of Interior says there are 17.9 billion barrels of oil available off-shore in areas under the federal drilling ban…

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said last year that new off-shore drilling could add about 200,000 barrels of oil per day to U.S. output — not enough to have “a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030.”

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080804/NEWS15/80804084

There aren’t so “many drill and bomb voters out there” but, the left has continuously allowed itself to be framed by the fascist corporatist right as “hating Americans” or “tree huggers” or “liberals” and has continuously failed and refused to mount any effective counters to the drumbeats from the Axis of Ignorance of the right.

Context is decisive. The context of the past several elections since Bill Clinton’s successes (query whether absent Mr. Perot, BC would’ve been successful)has been one much as Erich described in his recent post about “the burden of proof.” Until there are counter-frames developed, supported, and broadly exposed to the public, the past 40 years of the drumbeats from the Axis of Ignorance of the right will continue to define politics in America, and shape the future of the world.