By Chris Stirewalt
Political Editor 2/20/09
Today, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood created a controversy unnecessary to his boss’ aims by chatting with an AP reporter about a long-discussed idea of taxing motorists by the mile and not by the gallon.
It’s an interesting idea that would tax motorists equally instead of factoring in vehicle fuel efficiency and the like. A fun topic for a roundtable at a think tank, maybe.
But when it comes from the Cabinet, it arouses passions. Greenies don’t like the plan because it doesn’t offer the same incentives for Prius users. Conservatives fear that a government that is trillions in the hole will implement both taxes. Rural folks don’t like paying more for living farter apart. City dwellers dig the plan… and so on.
A lot of the headaches in President Obama’s first month have been a result of the remarks of freelancing officials.
Attorney Eric Holder’s intentional provocation of calling Americans “cowards” on race in his Black History Month address this week at the Justice Department has brought outrage and celebration all of which is distracting from a president who wants to talk about the economy, not his status as America’s first black chief executive.
And with Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, and Tim Geithner on the team, there have been plenty of distractions.
The Bush White House may have put excessive focus on message discipline, sometimes causing key assets to be underplayed in key public debates – Secretary Rice and Rob Portman come to mind. But it also meant that the President largely knew where the incoming fire was coming from, not having to get minute-by-minute updates on the controversy of the day.
