President Clinton Touts Gas Tax Holiday

There has been a lot of media coverage recently about the "holiday gas tax," proposed in alternate versions by Senators Clinton and McCain. Senator Obama is against the plan. You can read about the coverage of the holiday gas tax [here, here, and here. The three candidates are not the only ones talking about it.

President Clinton has been holding what the Clinton campaign calls, town halls, and at the two I attended Friday, just outside of Indianapolis, he made sure he touched on the holiday gas tax, too.

Watch for yourself. The first video clip was from a town hall in Greenfield, Indiana, where President Clinton addressed a crowd of roughly 900. The second video clip was taken about four hours later where he spoke to a smaller crowd in Lebanon, Indiana.

"When push comes to shove, it's one of those cool political things," said Teresa Fisher, an Obama supporter who was attending the Clinton event with her daughter. Fisher said somebody needed to come up with something, but said this proposal was a short-term solution.

"We need something permanent," said Shannon Metzger, who attended the event with her husband, Russell Metzger. He agreed, and said "it's good for the short term but we need something more permanent." Both were happy to see a President come to their small town.

I spoke with roughly fifteen people after the Lebanon Town Hall rally about the holiday gas tax, and none said they thought the plan was a great one. Most were unsure of what it really entailed, but it was clear that everyone wanted a long-term solution.

Julie Lakomek, an undecided voter, said she still had to do her research about the candidates. Lakomek said she wanted a permanent solution to gas prices. "I liked what he said about hybrid cars, that's exciting and affordable," said Lakomek. Who is a teacher in the community.

President Clinton is scheduled to hold six Town Hall rallies today. And if they are anything like the ones I attended Friday, Indiana hasn't heard the last of the "holiday gas tax," at least from President Clinton.