Paul Krugman denounces “demon ethanol” in his New York Times column today:
Actually, in case you’re wondering, Obama and Clinton support ethanol subsidies, but McCain has consistently opposed subsidizing ethanol (though he has softened his rhetoric). Here’s an excerpt from a speech McCain delivered in Iowa (!) last November:
McCain went on to argue, however, that his support of a cap-and-trade system for “carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions” would provide a “a powerful incentive” for producing “alternatives to oil such as ethanol.” A cap and trade system may be a very bad idea, but it’s a position McCain shares with Krugman, who has lamented: “Where’s the organized, powerful constituency for …a cap-and-trade system on carbon dioxide emissions?” So, McCain is objectively quite good on ethanol and seemingly perfect from Krugman’s perspective. But I doubt we’ll see Krugman writing anytime soon that Obama wants to steal bread from the mouths of starving African children in order to beat McCain in the Midwest.
