The Air Apparent As he flip-flops on drilling, Barack Obama contends we can save as much oil by inflating our tires as may be found offshore. What's phase two of his energy plan? Borrowing Jimmy Carter's sweater? If Obama ran a gas station, it would probably have no gas pumps, just air hoses. Speaking in Missouri last week, the one we have been waiting for said: "There are things you can do individually, though, to save energy. Making sure your tires are properly inflated — simple things. But we could save all the oil that they're talking about getting off drilling — if everybody was just inflating their tires. And getting regular tuneups. You'd actually save just as much!" The Saudis must be laughing their heads off. Can we expect Jimmy Carter to be Obama's secretary of energy? Keeping your tires properly inflated can improve your gas mileage by about 3%. Most new cars don't need tuneups for the first 100,000 miles. And even all the hot air from Obama's speeches would not make a dent in the 20 million barrels of crude we consume daily....