Gingrich Says Obama is Pandering to Big Air

He's way off the mark. Not only do those air machines - at a whopping total of what, $2 per customer per year? - not enrich the oil companies, but as the price of petroleum rises and gas station owners face thinner and thinner profit margins, air pumps, car vacuums and cigarettes, drinks and snacks are the things that keep filling stations open. These are the only ways that private station owners can make any money at all.

Newt has always been a bit tone deaf in his economic witticisms, but this one is just staggering. Has he had a CAT scan lately?

That smug line of nonsense from Newt is disingenuous and actually, very "unAmerican."

I've supplied C-Store (convenience store) operators for years and I can tell you that the majority of them are small-business operations owned by hard-working, taxpaying citizens. These C-Store Operators barely make a few pennies off of gasoline. They hope for and rely on consumers to shop for convenience items in their stores to make money. Properly inflated tires actually means sending less money to "those people over there" Newt. It also means putting a couple of extra cents in the pockets of hard-working, mom-n-pop corner stores across America, not "Big Oil."

Either Newt is an idiot of the highest magnitude and doesn't know that this is the reality (doubtful), or he's willfully being dishonest and trying to manipulate the American Public. Either way, it's inexcusable and a disgrace.

Ok,
but I really am scared what will happen when the big water monopolys get involved,what is next?a charge to fill your water bottle and flush the toilet?

Okay, everyone...let's check ourselves here...

Watch the clip again. Gingrich says, "I got a very funny email..." He is REPEATING what the email said, humorously, NOT making a claim himself. The idea that Obama is pandering to "Big Air" is simply an attempt to humorously answer the question.

I don't really care for Gingrich or Hannity either. However this is a case of political bias creating a story where there isn't one. Exercise a little self-control, people.

I'm so SICK of the talking heads latching on some stupid sound byte and whipping it until it is dead.

We have HUGE problems that need intelligent, bipartisan discussion from wise people yet what we hear the most about is stupid things like "Obama's a Muslim" or Newt's tangle of lies or "Obama ignored the troops when he visited Afghanistan". FWIW when I was in the Navy the VIPs ALL ignored us lowly working folks - didn't matter who visited, all the VIPs hurried off to the officer areas.

What really bothers me about these petty issues are that some of the people I considered to be intelligent, well reasoned people have really focused on these same topics. If I get one more stupid e-mail from a friend or family about half-truths like these I'll explode.

I love the internet b/c if nothing else it is exposing how petty and unintelligent our leadership really is.

It seems the Republicans are throwing the jabs and low blows both in this election and the last. I have always voted Republican but I think this time they have lost my vote. Not sure if the Dems will get it either.

FWIW buy a $75 air compressor and treated correctly it will last decades and you will no longer have to pay anyone for air (directly). Version #2 - patronize those few remaining gas stations with a mechanic on duty b/c they usually have air and water for free.

Everyone already pays for water :p

If these pumps are such cash cows, then why are about one in three broken?

The free air pump at my local gas station begs to differ with Mr. Gingrich

C'mon, this is hilarious. It's not even outrageous in the slightest. Conservatives love to call people that want investigations into 9/11 'conspiracy theorists', but then Gingrich gets up there and starts claiming Obama has some kind of conspiracy going with gas station owners to make money on filling up tires. That is absolutely hilarious. Anyone who believes Newt here has to be an absolute idiot. If people on the left didn't get all bent out of shape over ridiculous crap like this, conservative asses would stop doing it. It's that whole outrage-the-left strategy. Say something to outrage the left (it's easy to do) and people will laugh and point fingers all the while ignoring the ridiculous thing that was said.

What we need to do is just laugh. Just laugh at Newt. Why even waste your energy trying to take him seriously? He's obviously just trying to charge the moronic base of the republican party. These points are so easily debunked, it's not even worth it. It's a joke. Laugh.

Well, I was all despondent about McCain having more fire and directness in Rick Warren's interview than Obama. But now, I remember how in all this back and forth punditry, the McCain side always manages to look retarded.

Adam Savage, (aka the Mythbusters dude) where are you when we need you? Please shut these idiots up. It should be obvious to anyone who has ever pushed a car or ridden a bike with under-inflated tires what a huge difference it makes- unfortunately I really can't see Newt pushing anything but a dessert tray.

Actually, as annoying as it is to listen to these dolts, the truth will show itself eventually and they will go down in history as the useless, pompous, foot dragging politicians that they are.

stradric I would agree with you whole heartedly if I didn't live in Oklahoma. I am a home health nurse and I visit a lot of good ol' Okies. I used to be overwhelmed with the level of stupidity that I encountered on a daily basis but I now just expect it. I met a patient who believes that Obama is performing voodoo on the public to make them support him, many that still believe he is a Muslim in the face of all evidence to the contrary, several who think he was born in another country an don't know that his family is white. I do know that these people are looking for any excuse to justify their reason for not supporting him beside his race (almost all say "it isn't because he's black"), but they watch Fox and listen to Rush and they vote. These people don't laugh and point a finger at the person on tv or the radio that said the rediculous thing, they believe it and pass it on to other unenlightened voters who are afraid of change. This is the crowd that the extremists right is playing to, and in a close race these voters could make the difference.

The closest people we've got to Adam Savage for politics are Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert. According to the NYT yesterday, Stewart may be the 4th most trusted newscaster in the country (of course its more entertainment than news, but then again so are half of the things on 24 hour news stations).

Unfortunately, most of the people who watch those shows are probably the people already smart enough (and paying enough attention) to see through the ridiculous stuff already.

I inflate my car tires with my bicycle pump. It's surprisingly easy and fast.