Obama In the Pocket of Big Air?

On June 16, 2008, John Zimmerman, chief financial officer of Tomkins, gave nearly $7,000 in campaign contributions to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Lo and behold, nary two months later Obama's in Springfield, Missouri, suggesting drivers inflate their tires to save gas (and, by the way, curb CO2 emissions). Coincidence? We think not. Does it come as any surprise that Tomkins owns the Syracuse Gauge Company, which bills itself as manufacturing the "largest selection and variety of tools in the United States for filling tires [and] checking tire pressure"?

Of course the mainstream media ignored this development, leaving it to the blogosphere to bring the big money and big pressure of the PSI lobby to light.

Clearly, Mr. Zimmerman's contributions influenced the Obama campaign to encourage Americans to purchase tire gauges, though most of the lowly devices have already been snapped up by the McCain campaign. Perhaps the most-shocking part of Inflategate is the politicization of a suggestion so simple as following the instructions found in your car's owners manual. It's also something of a tempest in a teapot, seeing how all new cars must have tire-pressure monitors.

At least with John McCain and the oil industry, the contributions came after the policy announcement. This kind of brazen quid pro quo should not come without a deflation at the electoral booth. Ha! The jokes write themselves.

Seriously, kudo's to Mr. Zimmerman to get some good cheap PR out of this election.