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  Priority #?

  The good news is that Obama's campaign did articulate a Transportation priorities and even displayed a commitment to sustainable modes such as walking and biking.  That is much more than can be said of either of his contenders' campaigns (Clinton's or McCain's).  

  At the same time, there are clear signals that he is not treating this as anything like a top-rung issue.  I've copied Obama's agenda priorities at the bottom of this post--transportation is not in the top 20--it's a "sub-issue".

  Given that (a) he wants to spend a lot on infrastructure repair and (b) large systems such as rail that are built by companies dominated by Republican-tilting engineers, it wouldn't hurt him too much to have an (R) in that position.  

  Further, one of the biggest national strategic issues in transportation is the gas tax.  If Obama is shrewd, he'll understand that we need a major increase in the gas tax (on the order of 50 cents), and the elimination of the gas tax as a "user fee" (i.e., we need to be able to spend that money on other things than transportation.  Who better to lead that charge than a Republican with experience on the Appropriations committee?

  -David Levinger

  From Obama's Change.gov site

  "THE AGENDA"
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    -TransportationOn Will Ray LaHood be our next transportation secretary? posted 11 months, 2 weeks ago 2 Responses