Summertime fuel-ishness

Everybody loves a freebie or a tax break, even a limited one like the summer federal-gas-tax suspension proposed by Republican presidential contender John McCain and glommed onto by Democratic contender Hillary Clinton.

This is such blatant pandering to voters you almost want to say, "Hey, Merry Christmas in July. Party on!" — all the way to the beach. That is, until you stop and think about the current use of 18.4 cents a gallon. The federal tax on motor fuels helps state and local governments pay for road and bridge building and repair and maintenance — investment that is sorely needed.

Clinton would restore the highway trust fund by imposing a windfall-profits tax on oil companies. McCain would divert revenue from other sources to shore up the fund.

The other candidate in the race, Barack Obama, has the smarter position on this knee-jerk energy policy.

Obama says his rivals' call for a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax is "designed to get them through an election" and would not significantly help struggling consumers.

Campaigning in North Carolina, Obama said suspending the tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day would harm highway construction and could cost North Carolina up to 7,000 jobs. Lower tax receipts, if not replaced by other sources, could cost 300,000 construction jobs nationwide.

Thomas Friedman of The New York Times has a wise take on this in the syndicated column appearing on this page: "This is not an energy policy. This is money laundering: We borrow money from China and ship it to Saudi Arabia and take a little cut for ourselves as it goes through our gas tanks. What a way to build our country."

Or not. Instead of telling the truth — that oil is getting horribly expensive — and working to develop alternative fuels and energy sources, candidates McCain and Clinton are buying into an immediate-gratification, feel-good policy that provides temporary relief and potential votes. The tax suspension does nothing to solve long-term fuel problems.