more bad news for Obama. It turns out he voted three times for the exact same thing that he is now criticizing Hillary Clinton for --- a temporary reduction in the gas tax to save consumers money.
From CBS News
Obama took a different view on the issue when he was an Illinois legislator, voting at least three times in favor of temporarily lifting the state's 5 percent sales tax on gasoline.
The tax holiday was finally approved during a special session in June of 2000, when Illinois motorists were furious that gas prices had just topped $2 a gallon in Chicago.
During one debate, he joked that he wanted signs on gas pumps in his district to say, "Senator Obama reduced your gasoline prices."
This is a rookie mistake -- and given the questions raised by the Wright controversy regarding where Obama really stands, is going to hurt him more than it would ordinarily.
Obama tried to exploit the fact that Clinton and McCain both support a gas tax holiday (nevermind the fact that Obama's criticism of the tax in North Carolina ignores the fact that Clinton's proposal is contingent upon the imposition of a windfall profits takes to make up for lost revenue.)
It was a sleazy, cheesy attack on Clinton -- and given his record on cutting gas taxes -- a really stupid attack to be making.
If Obama winds up being the nominee, you can bet that McCain is going to exploit this to the fullest extent possible -- especially since the idea of tax relief is always popular wit voters.