In a moment of candor after his political career had ended, former vice president Al Gore averred that his support of ethanol was in part driven by “a certain fondness for the farmers in the state of Iowa because I was about to run for president.” Gore, it should be noted, cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate when he was vice president in 1994 to pass the first statute to mandate the use of ethanol as an additive to certain reformulated gasoline blends. 

Ethanol fever is far from being a partisan affliction, though. The latest diagnosed case is Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich. In his most recent speech in Iowa, Gingrich declared his commitment to make America energy self sufficient, in part through ethanol. The applause line/press lead of his speech: “if my choice is Iran, or Iowa, I prefer the money in Iowa. If my choice is Saudi Arabia, or South Dakota, I prefer the money in South Dakota.”