Obama supports RFS, McCain doesn't

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama reaffirmed his support of the federal Renewable Fuels Standard on Tuesday. Obama's Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, opposes the fuel standard that mandates a specific amount of ethanol be used in the nation's fuel supply.

Obama's statement was reported Wednesday in an article by Jerry Hagstrom for DTN Ag News:

In a telephone call to a National Farmers Union reception in Washington, Obama said he has supported the RFS and federal programs for renewable fuels since he became a senator from Illinois. He also noted that the weather-related disaster program, hospitals, the recruitment of doctors and high-speed internet service are important to rural America.

"I will keep on fighting for you as president," Obama said. "These are the legislative priorities I am going to tackle with you." Obama received the Golden Triangle from the NFU, a Democratic-leaning group.

The article also quotes Iowa Republican senator Chuck Grassley as saying that his party's platform is "inconsistent" on renewable fuels issues.

CNN Poll in Iowa: Obama 55 -- McCain 40

Not surprisingly, Obama is currently crushing McCain here in Iowa. This poll makes a lot of sense, given the fact that McCain has been so hostile toward agriculture.

Here's the link

In a CNN/Time/Opinion Research Corp. survey out Wednesday afternoon, 55 percent of Iowa registered voters who were questioned said that Obama, D-Illinois, is their choice for president, with 40 percent backing McCain, R-Arizona. That's more than double the lead Obama had in a University of Iowa poll taken early last month.

"Obama is winning in all regions of the state, even in the western counties, where George W. Bush beat John Kerry by 17 points," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said. "Obama is winning rural voters in Iowa, not something you see in many other states."

Iowa's caucuses kicked off the presidential primary season and launched Obama toward the Democratic presidential nomination.

"Iowa was Barack Obama's breakthrough state. He won the Democratic caucuses with a powerful organization. John McCain barely competed in the Iowa Republican caucuses. He came in fourth," said Bill Schneider, a CNN senior political analyst.

"Obama retains a strong organization in Iowa, where McCain is just beginning to get started," Schneider said.

Catfish

Caught a nice catfish at the Albia Reservoir over the weekend. It weighed just slightly under five pounds.

Where does McCain's VP pick stand on biofuels?

It's no secret in Iowa where the two presidential candidates stand on renewable fuels.

John McCain is infamous for standing against biofuels time after time. And he sure didn't score too well on the Iowa Corn Growers Association's survey last year.

Barack Obama, a corn-belt senator, is a strong proponent of biofuels, and has talked about them at length during the presidential campaign. Iowans liked his message, and helped propel him to win the Democratic nomination.

Obama's pick for vice-president, Joe Biden, is clearly on the right side of the debate. Just watch this video:



So where does McCain's pick for VP stand? It's a mystery. But considering her ties to Big Oil in Alaska, I wouldn't bet on her being a friend to biofuels. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Gettin' Better

Awesome Tesla tune, and it fits the moment perfectly. Enjoy!

Convention coverage

My brother Joe is out in Denver. He's created a blog, Albia Democrat, where he's posting some good stuff from the convention.

Also, Chase Martyn is in Denver for the Iowa Independent. Check 'em out for some good coverage from the Iowa point-of-view.

Biden

Joe Biden was a brilliant choice to be Barack Obama's running mate. Biden was very popular among Iowa Democrats last year when he ran for president. He connected well with the people he met, and gained quite a few supporters along the way.

Above is a photo I took of Biden with my son, Aidan and my wife, Steva when Biden came to Albia for a campaign event.

McCain on farm policy

Here are a few links to some stories on Iowa Independent that will shed some light on John McCain's views on federal ag policy.

This story by Doug Burns shows what Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin has to say.

Here's a story I did at the state fair last week when I interviewed Senate Agriculture Committee member Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

This story has a link to the Iowa Corn Growers Association's Targeted Agricultural Education Project results.

It's all stuff that should be of interest to farmers and rural Iowans.