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http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=177683&f=19

The NYT continues its policy of running McCain oppo pieces against obama. Today we are told front page that Obama is surrounded by advisors with ties to the ethanol industry. Of course the only people that can come up with are Tom Daschle - whom Obama hangs out with and admires but doesn't actually have a campaign role - and a staffer who used to work at a bipartisan think tank where one of the honorary chairs is Bob Dole (surprisingly! the former Kansas Senator has ties - imagine that - to agri business).

Of course the second half does comfort me as the rest of the article is about how McCain (and based on the glowing writing the Times) think the US should buy millions of gallons of ethanol from Brazil rather than Iowa or Nebraska. All so that the price thousands of farmers get for their crop can be driven back into the ground.

Interestingly, while the oil and nuclear industry deserve big subsidies, the idea of the government investing in figuring out switch grass and creating a whole new industry that is greener, could benefit tens of thousands of farmers, and doesn't have the side effect of corn ethanol is anethema to McCain. Apparently he only believes in handouts to those industries whose lobbyists stock his war chest and staff.