Senator Sanders on new fuel standards

[ProSense]

Fuel Standards

President Barack Obama plans Friday to announce new fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks for the model years 2017 through 2025. The administration has been in negotiations with automakers on boosting fuel economy. Officials say the 2025 goal is 54.5 miles per gallon. Senator Bernie Sanders called for raising fuel standards to 55 mpg in legislation he introduced last year. Sanders praised the Obama initiative. "The historic agreement that the Obama administration has reached with automakers is a huge step forward for saving car owners money at the gas pump, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and creating American jobs. By moving to 54.5 mpg, we can eliminate our reliance on Mideast oil by 2030. That's extraordinary and a great step forward for our country."

[Historic NY]

1. It will be overturned come 2013.

[jamieque]

2. It probably will be

if the american people are stupid enough to vote the current president out of office next year and put in his place a republican... oh wait... silly me! The american people won't do that because it isn't in their best interest. God help us all and no I am not joking.

[ClarkUSA]

3. Why?

[CakeGrrl]

4. It's the attack from the Left flank:

"Obama is out! He's weak! He's toast! He's done!"

Wonderfully timed to coincide with the Right going nuts and attacking from the Right.

Just my guess.

[Honeycombe8]

5. I'm a moderate, and I now think O is weak and is in serious trouble for re-election.

I was an ardent O supporter. I supported him from the very beginning. Contributed to his campaign. I think he's done some good things as President, maybe even great things. And he's faced some problems in this country, all at once, that no President before has had to face.

But I gradually am coming to the conclusion that he is out of his league with the bulldogs in Washington. He's a tad weak for, and with, them.

I sometimes wonder what things would be like if there were, like, an LBJ in the Presidency.

Obama's an astute politician, so he may pull off a re-election. It was only recently I thought he was a shoe-in for re-election, despite the economy. Now, I see him as in big trouble.

[Telly Savalas]

6. I don't exactly see any Abe Lincolns on the GOP side this time

So worst case scenario, it will be a competitive race.

The Republican caucus wasn't as uniformly stupid in the 60's as it is now, so I'm not really sure LBJ would get much better results.

[Honeycombe8]

7. I hope you're right about the competition. But incumbent Prez elections are usu. about...

the incumbent, not the competition.

As for LBJ, I don't really know. But he was big, he was tall, he had a trashy mouth, he spoke his mind, he told people where to get off, he knew Washington, and he got things done. He got the civil rights act passed, despite Republicans being against it, and even some in his own party being against it. He was an insider, and as an insider, he knew how to get things done, nicely or not so nicely. As he signed the bill, he said something like, "With this bill the Dems are saying goodbye to the south." And he was pretty much right. But he signed it, anyway.

Maybe LBJ wouldn't be any better. But you know what I mean. Someone who would put up a fight and be someone to contend with.