John McCain: Handouts for Exxon, but not for renewable energy

Republican presidential candidate John McCain didn't mince words Friday at the Iowa State Fair, telling corn producers he didn't want to subsidize their ethanol but was eager to help market farm products around the world.

Democrats in the state said McCain's opposition to ethanol subsidies and the $300 billion farm bill would make it difficult for the Republican to win Iowa's seven electoral votes and would hurt him throughout the Midwest. McCain called the bipartisan farm bill "bloated" and an example of the kind of spending measure he would veto as president.

"He voted against ethanol subsidies, he's opposed to the farm bill," Iowa Democratic Chairman Scott Brennan said. "What it proves is he doesn't care about what's important to Iowa."

On energy policy, McCain reiterated his disagreements with Democratic candidate Barack Obama. McCain favors immediately lifting a ban on offshore drilling while Obama opposes more drilling unless it's part of a larger package of energy proposals.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080808/ap_on_el_pr/mccain

these sorts of comments are not in the least surprising. I'm still trying to figure out why Big Oil needs their subsidies.