Jody and I attended BlogHer07 this year in Chicago and among the great
speakers we had there was Elizabeth Edwards (that's me with her to the
left!!), wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. I have
to say, on a personal level, I was inspired… and I’m not the type to
say that lightly. I went into the keynote session she was in with
excitement but also with a clear thought of where I was casting my vote
come November 2008 (If you must know, it was Obama – please use the
comments area for feedback and slams). I walked away from her Q&A
session with a floundering feeling of not knowing where I stood on my
candidate choice… I even wrote to the blogging buddy next to me,
“Forget Hillary and Barack, I’m voting for Elizabeth!”
And
there you have it. Ask Patty has become political. Let me douse some
cold water on you hotheads for a second. My opinions are mine alone and
do not reflect those of the Ask Patty staff or company, though I think
anyone worth his salt will vote outside the Republican ticket this
year.
Elizabeth had a lot to say about supporting education and for making it
easier smart people to become teachers and nurses because we need more
of these gifted people in these fields. She also touched on John’s
issue of gay marriage but she made sure to point out that she and John
both support repealing all limitations in all 50 states, whereas other
candidates (even the left ones) only support repealing some convenient
ones.
Okay
so what does this have to do with cars? Well, I caught up with
Elizabeth at an after party and grabbed an email from her group where I
can send this burning question: “What will John Edwards and his
Administration do to push back harder on the automotive manufacturers
and fuel economy requirements? Will you make them do a better job?”
And
I ask you as well: Why haven’t we, as a country and as a people with a
fast fading planet beneath us, why haven’t we stopped and told the
Toyotas and the GMs and the Fords and the Kias and the Dodges of our
world to stop messing around and think about their consumers and the
environment for once? Why aren’t we DOING that? The technology is there
so why aren’t the large manufacturers being held accountable?
Let
me leave you with some food for thought. According to the Consumer
Federation of America, “the average fuel economy across nine of 13
major automakers’ lineups is worse today than it was in 1996.” Wow,
there’s advancement for you.
by Breanne Boyle
