Besides, in post-World War II times, should VW and Porsche owners be ashmaed of their German cars? Especially 911 drivers because Dr. Porsche worked for the fuhror himself?

After September 11, 2001, I don’t think a muslim would be a good representative of our nation…

1 million plug-in hybrid motor vehicles by 2015.

Out of 300 + million personal vehicles registered in the U.S. (2007 numbers)

Which translates to roughly a .3% potential reduction in petroleum dependency for U.S. driver’s, assuming miles accumulated per year remain constant.

Which will have an even infintesimally more fractional effect on global oil dependence when Chinese and Indian private vehicle ownership exceeds a projected 800 million by 2025.

hbcbob3, the rest of your response to my post is full of significant inconsistencies. You don’t want people to trounce on American tradition and ideals, when those tradition and ideals are based on a policy of non-exclusion. Your individual viewpoint is no better or less significant than mine. The most unAmerican thing you can say is to kick someone out of our country because his view is different than yours. And it is unbridled arrogance for you to decide whose ideals and traditions should prevail.

I would also disagree with xyunya that the U.S. president’s job is “mostly” foreign affairs, but that is undoubtedly important. George Sr. told his campaign staff that he didn’t need to worry about domestic policy because of the Desert Storm success and his popularity from that…. and we all know how his bid for a second term turned out….

THERE * IS * NO * FREE * RIDE.

And BTW Pelosi and Clinton would be good candidates for that…no one would be distracted by their exposed…ugh…parts.

brassmonkey, on cloudy day we can ask Pelosi to flash and moon solar panels. Also, Hillary Clinton has a larger flat and large moon – she can help.

Does everyone remember when Australia told all the muslims that if they did not like their Christian nation values then they could leave? I remember, and I wish that America would do the same thing…to anyone who wants to change our nation. Sure, support and practice your own religion, that’s great, but DO NOT try to change the traditions and ideals of this nation. If you want to do that, go back to your own nation.

There is no problems with diesels in US. There is problem with supply of cleaner diesel fuel then we used to consume. Factories are not up on the production curve to produce cleaner diesel. I am not stating “clean” diesel, simply because “our” diesel still sub par compare to European, ergo added cost to the engine development. Hopefully, this is behind manufacturers and clean diesel engines will start coming to dealership near you.
I am all for plug ins and plug outs, but Volt at 40K a pop is not exactly a household item and beyond 40 mi. you will need to burn fuel. And it is promised land, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speech. It’s not here and we don’t know when it will come. I’ve been conditioned by GM that whatever comes out usually not even close to what was promised, they are welcome to unconvince me, but haven’t happen in the past 30 years.

The big problem with diesel is that the U.S. is not equipped to process enough of it, should diesel be more prevalent. It’s a different refining process, and already the U.S. exports a lot of its diesel to Europe, so the continent can meet its demand.

Have you seen the price of disel these days? It would only get worse if U.S. diesel demand were higher.

So, I like plug-ins. I especially like the Volt, which can theoretically utilize a fuel cell or other biomass fuel, etc., as its secondary powerplant. Plug-ins seem to be the best option right now, because we can use them with existing infrastructure, and they are flexible for the future….

Obama’s plan is exactly the kind of thing that will get him elected. The technology is at our doorstep and the incentives to industry should usher it in quicker. Plug-in hybrids have the real promise of significantly reducing fuel costs, and that’s something middle class Americans will listen to at the polls.

As far as Obama as a man, I have nothing against McCain, but when Obama was giving a speech to crowds of hundreds of thousands in Berlin, McCain was answering questions from a podium in Columbus, OH. Obama is certainly presidential.

xyunya,
All due respect, but I think G.W.’s legacy in Iraq will prove that the decision to invade–however justified from a humanitarian viewpoint–was hasty and ill informed–at best. Just today a pulitzer prize winning author, Suskind, was on the Today show promoting his book about the fact that Bush himself outright *ignored* evidence that Iraq was WMD free. Once insiders emerge from the political bubble of working in the White House, we’ll know the true story.

And I don’t buy for a second that Bush can wash his hands of his decision to invade Iraq because it was based on the information handed to him. And, frankly, that is one scary attitude towards leadership. Of course, Bush isn’t gonna go out and get the intel himself, but if he is going to sacririce thousands of lives, many many billions of dollars or our taxpayers’ money, then he better have intel from a foreign asset, satellite photos, or a goddamn receipt for uranium delivered to Hussain’s house.

Bush can’t point to the proof, but, and this is the cynic in me talking, he’s been in bed with oil for years. His National Security Adviser, Condi Rice, was a board member of Chevron for 10 years, and had an oil tanker named after her for crissakes! The person heading U.S. national security interests had an oil tanker named after her?!

After taking office, Bush developed an energy policy by meeting with Big Oil, and only Big Oil.

Now, me the cynic: Bush invaded Iraq because a destabilized Middle East can wreak havoc on U.S. Big Oil interest. Only Saudi oil is in the top five oil imports from that region, so we probably don’t even know if Iranian or Iraqi oil smells different than Canadian or Venezuelan oil, but the rest of the world sure as hell knows. If the Middle East spirals out of control, American companies may not be able to do much about it…. but American military might parked–and comfortable–on the Middle East’s doorstep probably can.

So, Obama or McCain, either would be a HUGE improvement over G.W. Our electric grid can handle the influx of 1 million plug-in hybrids, but eventually more/better power infrastructure will be needed. The fact that U.S. citizens have more and more plug-ins may actually ease the restrictions on energy growth, like nuclear, or promote advancement of alternative energies.

In the end, McCain or Obama? I actually haven’t made up my mind, but it’s stories like this that have me paying attention.

The answer is hydrogen fuel cells plus E-85 for those who can’t afford it and to make the transition to all Hydrogen vehicles.
Ethanol can come from sources other than corn. Look at Brazil.