Hillary: "The fact is that when we first had an occasion to vote on ethanol back in the early part of my term, I voted on behalf of my constituents. There was very credible evidence, that it would, if all we did was subsidize ethanol in the middle of the country, raise gas prices on both coasts which would have directly driven up the cost in New York and I didn't think that would be a good idea for a senator from New York and what I have been pleased about and I had a role in this, was to create a much broader base for ethanol. We now have ethanol plants in New York and so the idea that you would have only one part of the country and the transportation cost would be quite expensive because of the way ethanol has to be transported, is no longer a factor. So, I happily support corn ethanol, all forms of ethanol, research for cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel."
Obama: "I've been a strong supporter of ethanol. Corn-based ethanol is a transitional technology."
McCain 2003: "Ethanol is a product that would not exist if Congress didn't create an artificial market for it. No one would be willing to buy it," McCain said in November 2003. "Yet thanks to agricultural subsidies and ethanol producer subsidies, it is now a very big business - tens of billions of dollars that have enriched a handful of corporate interests - primarily one big corporation, ADM. Ethanol does nothing to reduce fuel consumption, nothing to increase our energy independence, nothing to improve air quality."
McCain, 2006 edition: "I support ethanol and I think it is a vital, a vital alternative energy source not only because of our dependency on foreign oil but its greenhouse gas reduction effects."
Ah, politics...
