EYE ON TRUCKING: Truckers need to arm themselves with data about 2008 candidates

There could be a record turnout at the polls in November.

By LYNDON FINNEY
The Trucker Staff

8/1/2008

In a little over three months, Americans will elect a new president, and for the first time in 20 years, he will not be a Clinton or a Bush.

I suspect, given the economic climate, that there could be a record turnout at the polls Nov. 4.

As a newspaper, it is our responsibility to inform.

Primarily, “informing” is reporting news events about the trucking industry, whether it be Hours of Service, the latest OEM model, the newest engine or a laundry list of other issues.

But “informing” also means providing you information that will enable you to enhance both your personal and professional life.

We take our responsibility very seriously, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because the nature of the trucking industry tends to take you away from other information sources for long periods of time.

The upcoming presidential election appears to be somewhat unique when compared to recent presidential elections in that neither candidate appears to necessarily want to continue current administration policies — Barack Obama simply because he’s a Democrat, John McCain because he’s smart enough to read the polls tracking President Bush’s popularity among the electorate.

One of the things we will do between now and November is keep you informed about how each candidate is responding to transportation issues.

Remember, the next president will directly impact your job.

He’ll appoint the next Secretary of Transportation, who, in consultation with the president, will choose the new administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

(Yes, I know the FMCSA administrator is a presidential appointee, but don’t think for one minute that the new Secretary of Transportation won’t have a big say in who it is.)

As we proceed through this election process, we want to make one thing very clear.

If you care one iota about your job, you’d better stayed informed and then vote.

Our industry can have a big say in who our next president will be, and if you don’t believe that, just take a look back at the 2000 election.

Al Gore got 543,895 popular votes more than George W. Bush.

There are 3.1 million over the road truckers in this country.

You do the math.

We’ve already taken a first glance the Web site for both presidential candidates and clicked on the Issues tab.

Neither lists transportation as an issue, which we think is a big mistake.

Both appear to touch on transportation as they discuss other “issues,” such as energy and the environment.

One of the biggest differences between the two candidates at this point appears to be that McCain is for oil exploration in the U.S. and Obama doesn’t support it.