I thought Id give an idea a try.
Each Wednesday, we introduce a new news poll to our Web site. We publish the question every day on the Views page. And on each Wednesday, along with our new question, we post the numerical vote totals of the previous weeks poll question.
Often, the question is one that could provoke a lot of debate beyond the poll results. So I thought Id provide a forum on this blog as a way to discuss the results after the fact. Ill try to do it every Wednesday, unless, of course, Im on vacation. (And even then I might give it a shot! Well see.)
Last weeks question was:
Which presidential candidate do you most trust to lead our nation to end its dependence on foreign oil?
The results, in order, were:
Barack Obama, 131 votes (39 percent)
John McCain, 120 votes (36 percent)
None of the above, 70 votes (21 percent)
Ralph Nader, 9 votes (3 percent)
Bob Barr, 5 votes (1 percent)
First, I dont know what the statistical margin of error would be on such a poll its extremely unscientific, you know but certainly McCain is within the margin of error behind Obama in the outcome. Our poll respondents were basically even in their voting between the two major candidates. There were times during the past week when McCain had a few more votes than McCain.
Im a little surprised there were more votes for none of the above. Ive thought that most folks generally have little faith in our leaders to find an energy solution. Maybe people are a bit more hopeful about our candidates than I thought.
I would suppose that the Obama vs. McCain question boils down to whether you think drilling for oil off the U.S. coast, and in Alaska, is at least a short-term solution. Both candidates say they support the promotion of alternative energy sources, though McCain is not an ethanol proponent. I tend to believe both are sincere in promoting biofuels, wind energy, etc. McCain also strongly believes in reviving the push for more nuclear energy.
I personally dont think there is a short-term solution to either the price of gasoline or certainly our dependence on foreign oil. I think oil speculators are responsible for artificially raising our costs and Id like to see the Congressional investigations into this practice yield results. Im not holding my breath.
I dont think its a coincidence that the price of a gallon of gas has skyrocketed under the watch of a president and vice president who were/are/will be/know many oilmen. But then, if you read my blog closely, you know Im a conspiracy theorist. Fidel Castro is still dead, by the way.
My own personal opinions, in a nutshell, are that:
Easing gas taxes would take away too much money from our state and federal road funds money desperately needed for our crumbling highway systems.
Ethanol is a short-term alternative fuel solution, but in the longer term there can be cleaner, more efficient answers if we are willing to find them.
Wind power should be promoted with even greater zeal than ethanol has been in the past decade. I think a giant wind turbine in my back yard would be great ... especially if it mean I never had to pay the electric bill again.
The federal government should mandate greater fuel efficiency standards from U.S. automakers. I also think U.S. automakers either will end up making all electric and hydrogen fuel cell cars, or they will die.
I think the next president must inspire us to find energy solutions in the same spirit John F. Kennedy led us to put men on the moon. This will require a willingness to reject the special interests that stand firmly in the way. Im still not sure whether any of our current candidates is that kind of leader.
Those are my thoughts. What are yours?
Each Wednesday, we introduce a new news poll to our Web site. We publish the question every day on the Views page. And on each Wednesday, along with our new question, we post the numerical vote totals of the previous weeks poll question.
Often, the question is one that could provoke a lot of debate beyond the poll results. So I thought Id provide a forum on this blog as a way to discuss the results after the fact. Ill try to do it every Wednesday, unless, of course, Im on vacation. (And even then I might give it a shot! Well see.)
Last weeks question was:
Which presidential candidate do you most trust to lead our nation to end its dependence on foreign oil?
The results, in order, were:
Barack Obama, 131 votes (39 percent)
John McCain, 120 votes (36 percent)
None of the above, 70 votes (21 percent)
Ralph Nader, 9 votes (3 percent)
Bob Barr, 5 votes (1 percent)
First, I dont know what the statistical margin of error would be on such a poll its extremely unscientific, you know but certainly McCain is within the margin of error behind Obama in the outcome. Our poll respondents were basically even in their voting between the two major candidates. There were times during the past week when McCain had a few more votes than McCain.
Im a little surprised there were more votes for none of the above. Ive thought that most folks generally have little faith in our leaders to find an energy solution. Maybe people are a bit more hopeful about our candidates than I thought.
I would suppose that the Obama vs. McCain question boils down to whether you think drilling for oil off the U.S. coast, and in Alaska, is at least a short-term solution. Both candidates say they support the promotion of alternative energy sources, though McCain is not an ethanol proponent. I tend to believe both are sincere in promoting biofuels, wind energy, etc. McCain also strongly believes in reviving the push for more nuclear energy.
I personally dont think there is a short-term solution to either the price of gasoline or certainly our dependence on foreign oil. I think oil speculators are responsible for artificially raising our costs and Id like to see the Congressional investigations into this practice yield results. Im not holding my breath.
I dont think its a coincidence that the price of a gallon of gas has skyrocketed under the watch of a president and vice president who were/are/will be/know many oilmen. But then, if you read my blog closely, you know Im a conspiracy theorist. Fidel Castro is still dead, by the way.
My own personal opinions, in a nutshell, are that:
Easing gas taxes would take away too much money from our state and federal road funds money desperately needed for our crumbling highway systems.
Ethanol is a short-term alternative fuel solution, but in the longer term there can be cleaner, more efficient answers if we are willing to find them.
Wind power should be promoted with even greater zeal than ethanol has been in the past decade. I think a giant wind turbine in my back yard would be great ... especially if it mean I never had to pay the electric bill again.
The federal government should mandate greater fuel efficiency standards from U.S. automakers. I also think U.S. automakers either will end up making all electric and hydrogen fuel cell cars, or they will die.
I think the next president must inspire us to find energy solutions in the same spirit John F. Kennedy led us to put men on the moon. This will require a willingness to reject the special interests that stand firmly in the way. Im still not sure whether any of our current candidates is that kind of leader.
Those are my thoughts. What are yours?
