Actor and presidential hopeful Fred Thompson made a joke about Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney that included a reference to hybrids and NASCAR. At first, Fred made a joke equating Democrats to NASCAR (because they only turn left) and commented America was not ready to "turn over the keys" to the "most left-wing part of the left-wing party." Fred then had a suggestion for the good people of Northeastern Iowa;

Now, when Rudy and Mitt come down here from New York and Massachusetts, I want you to be nice to them. And the first thing I want you to do is explain to them what NASCAR is. ... It's not a hybrid automobile.

Iowa is "down here" meaning the south? Iowa is above the Mason–Dixon Line, in the Midwest and at the same latitude as New York. Anyway, while a lot of auto racing has gone green and many of the fastest cars in the world are electric, the idea that NASCAR will go hybrid is a joke.

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[Source: ABC News]

Last night's NBC Republican presidential debate took an unexpected turn to the green. For almost half an hour, the candidates talked about alternatives to oil and ethanol. Senator Sam Brownback even talked about a flex-fuel, plug-in hybrid car. Sam went into specifics saying he would like to see an electric-only range of 20 to 30 miles on plug-in hybrids. You can watch the video of Sam talking about plug-in, flex fuels below the fold. Here is the quote:

"We've got to get more electricity involved in our car fleet. There's a Chevy Malibu parked out front here that's a hybrid flex fuel. They've got hybrid cars; they've got flex fuel cars. I think that's a big part of the answer. I'd like to see us move forward with getting those first 20 to 30 miles off of electricity that you plug into at night. That's technology. We're putting forward tax credits and incentives to try to move that forward. That's something Detroit here needs to grab on, and is. And that can move us forward as an industry and as a country."

As for ethanol, Ron Paul does not support subsidies and neither does John McCain even though he drinks a glass of ethanol daily. In one of the funnier moments of the night, Mike Huckabee said we have to increase the pace of our support for ethanol. All the ethanol plans, Mike says, are for 15, 20 years in the future. Mike thinks we can do it in less than a decade if we worked at it like a mission to the moon or (because Huckabee knows his audience) a Nascar pit stop. You can also watch that video below the fold. Here is the quote.

"We can't wait until another generation. Instead of running it like Nascar, we've been running it like taking the family station wagon in for letting Goober and Gomer take a look at it when they get time, under the shade tree."

So, is Bush Goober or Gomer?

[Source: Mother Jones, Wall Street Journal]

Presidential hopeful Fred Thompson voted against ethanol subsidies in the Senate but has changed his tune. Thompson said he supports them now because they're a matter of "national security." Here is exactly what he said:

"I have voted against subsidies in the Senate ... But I think it's a matter now of national security, and we've got to avail ourselves of a lot of different resources, and I think renewable has to be a part of that picture."

Fred also voted Yes on terminating CAFE fuel efficiency standards back then. However, in the video above, Fred says "we've got a lot pieces to this energy puzzle. We're gonna have to use all of them. Fuel efficiency is apart of that." That may a flip-flop in position or good ol' voter "charming." Who knows?

Fred Thompson seems to imply climate change was not real in a joke he made about "alien SUV-driving industrialists who run their air conditioning at 60 degrees and refuse to recycle." However, in the video below the fold, he says "climate change is real. We have to take it seriously." By seriously, does he mean not telling jokes about climate change? Does he want to get serious at the pump? Nope, Thompson does not support an increase in the gas tax.

[Source: Boston Globe, YouTube]

What are the chances that Fred Thompson drives around America in a pickup truck for his campaign? Not very good, I'd say. But hey, it has worked out all right for him before. Back in '94, Thompson bought a red pickup truck and drove around Tennessee to campaign for the Senate. After Al Gore became the vice president, his seat on the Senate was up for grabs, and Thompson used "non-traditional" methods on his way to winning that election. Now that he is campaigning for the Republican presidential primaries, Bill Lacy, one of his aides, says that he will again use "non-traditional" methods. Does this mean that he will buy a hybrid and drive that from state-to-state instead? It would make more sense than using a pickup, unless that pickup is one of the upcoming two-mode hybrids from GM. Still, I'd say it's not likely.

[Source: Washington Post]