Obama: McCain, Republicans "Take Pride In Being Ignorant"

Berera, OH (AHN) - Speaking to Ohio voters during a town hall meeting on Tuesday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) gave a caustic response to Republican mockery of his suggestion that Americans should keep their tires properly inflated to conserve gas.

"This is the kind of thing they do. They know they're lying about what my energy plan is," Obama said, according to MSNBC. "But the other thing is they're making fun of a step that every expert says would absolutely reduce our oil consumption by three to four percent. It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant."

The Republican National Committee began giving out tire gages to Washington journalists on Monday to "celebrate" Obama's 47th birthday. It was actually a mocking tribute to the freshman Democrat's remark while campaigning in Missouri last week.

"There are things that you can do individually though to save energy; making sure your tires are properly inflated, simple thing, but we could save all the oil that they're talking about getting off drilling, if everybody was just inflating their tires and getting regular tune-ups. You could actually save just as much," Obama said.

Republicans were quick to jump at the statement, saying, "Instead of actually increasing America's domestic oil supply, this is how Obama thinks Americans should try to alleviate burdensome pain at the pump."

The campaign of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) also distributed tire gages Monday in Lansing, Michigan, where Obama made a major energy policy speech. The gages are printed with the phrase, "Obama Energy Plan."

Reacting to Obama's latest sharp words about the ignorance of his critics, McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said Tuesday, "Barack Obama does not have the judgment or experience to understand that Americans aren't choosing between offshore drilling and inflating their car tires, they're demanding action now," according to Time.