RACHEL MADDOW: I bring you some lousy news about democrats and this year’s elections.  It’s actually about the gas tax thing.  Yesterday our burying the lede story was about the fact that even though both Clinton and McCain have proposed rolling back the federal gas tax – when that gas tax rollback proposal is being criticized – it’s only being attributed to Senator Clinton.  Even though McCain proposed it first – when  the Washington Post wants to run a front page story about what a bad idea it is, the bad idea is all Hillary Clinton’s bad idea.  Presumably if they were going to run a front page story praising the gas tax rollback, they’d say it was the John McCain gas tax rollback proposal.  Anyway, anyway.  The argument on the gas tax thing- is that Barack Obama says it’s political pandering, it’s kicking the can down the road instead of confronting the problem.  He says the gas tax rollback won’t help solve the energy crisis, it won’t help solve the real problem of why energy costs are so high, it will probably give more money to the oil companies than they’re making now, and it puts our infrastructure and potentially 300 thousand jobs at risk by threatening the federal highway trust fund.  Senator Clinton’s proposal is that she can protect the infrastructure and the construction jobs by making up the difference, with a windfall tax on the oil companies’ profits.  And that the 30 bucks or so that Americans would save over the course of the summer – is still 30 bucks, that’s a little bit of immediate relief, and it’s nothing to sneeze at.

I think this is an interesting debate.  On the policy matter, I’m on Obama’s side on this, but I don’t think that Hillary Clinton’s take on it is evil.  I think in terms of the politics here, I’m glad this fight is about something other than the politics of personal destruction, and guilt by association. I think it will be interesting to see if Obama gets political points from voters for telling them “hey I know the gas tax rollback thing is designed to get your vote,  I know that sounds good, coming from Senator McCain and Senator Clinton but it’s honestly not a good idea for the country. I think you’re smart and adult enough to see why, I’m not going to treat you like dummies. I know you want more than political gimmicks.  And that’s aiming high – that’s a refuse-to-dumb-it-down kind of argument, and I think it will be fascinating to see if it works – if it does, it says something good about us as a country.  If it doesn’t work, it means that politics still works the way the cynics always tell us it works.

I think the gas tax debate is cool.  I’ve got a position on it, sure, but most of all I want the campaign to be about stuff like this.  I’m all for the campaign unfolding on issues like this.

At least I was.

Want to know what’s not cool now about the gas tax thing?  You could have knocked me over with a feather when I heard this next clip.  This is from yesterday, it’s about 25 seconds long, the audio is a little, it’s not great quality but bear with me here – check this out

SENATOR HILARY CLINTON (at a rally in southern Indiana. May 1, 2008): I believe it would be important to get every member of Congress on record.“Do they stand with the hard-pressed Americans who are trying to pay their gas bills at the gas station or do they once again stand with the oil companies? I want to know where people stand and I want them to tell us, are they with us or against us when it comes to taking on the oil companies?”

MADDOW: Are they with us or against us when it comes to taking on the oil companies? Are they with us or against us?

She saying are members of congress and by implication Senator Obama, with us or against us in terms of taking on the oil companies.

Really?

BUSH (November 6, 2001): You are either with us or you are against us in the fight against terror.

MADDOW: Really?  That’s really where this had to go?

Because Senator Clinton is proposing rolling back the gas tax – which actually helps the oil companies – and imposing a windfall profits tax on them – which hurts them. 

Senator Obama is also proposing the windfall profits tax to hurt the oil companies. He just isn’t proposing the rollback of the tax.  Which... would help them.

So who does that mean is with us and who does that mean is against us? 

BUSH (November 6, 2001): You are either with us or you are against us in the fight against terror.

MADDOW: Against the oil companies means for the gas tax rollback which helps them?  Or against the oil companies means not for that?

And we’re really at a point where a democrat is saying you’re either with us or against us, in campaign speeches... unironically?