Comments on: McCain’s environmentalism is inspiring, but is it believable?

By: Riley Firth

Riley Firth — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:14:52 +0000

While I don’t disagree that revitalizing the American economy is very important, why should it be either/or? Certainly the President has responsibilities on more than one issue, so why single out environmentalism OR the economy?

Barack Obama’s Blueprint for Change has a fairly clear description of what he intends to do on both issues, while McCain’s history of bouncing on the issue of environmentalism whenever big business has an interest (as they always do) casts serious doubts on the vague promises he’s made to protect it.

More importantly, though, buffering the US economy should not be achieved by running rough-shod over the wilderness, or drilling for oil in wildlife refuges. If America wants to fix the problems in its economy, maybe we should try PRODUCING something for the world again, we should educate our children practically to produce a better workforce, and maybe, just maybe, we should end an expensive and unnecessary conflict in the Middle East.

By: J

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:10:11 +0000

I must ask, what is wrong with supporting business, when it comes down to it? Mind you, I’m not an American citizen, so I don’t get to vote, but I’d much prefer that the President protect my tax dollars, preferably reducing the amount of them required to flow from my pocketbook each year, rather than adding to government expenditures with preservation and conservation. I’d be a strong proponent of fixing the problem of the environment, but let’s fix the problem of the economy first — if the American economy collapses, we’ll have much more to worry about than the natural habitats of some diverse species of mushrooms and insects about which a small minority cares.

Now, that’s not a vote of support for McCain. I’m as against lunacy as the next guy. But assuming that Obama wins the election, I’d certainly like to see him pay more attention to our money and less attention to the environmental lobby. That’s big business of a sort, too, lest we forget.