Just when you thought that Big Oil dictated the energy policy of the United States through political contributions, Wired.com has learned that a substantial contributor to the Obama campaign has influenced that candidate's ideas on energy.

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.

Offshore drilling deserves debate, as do biofuels and other alternatives to petroleum. While nobody can blame the McCain campaign for using tire-gauge jokes to prompt some real discussion on energy policy, the fact some Americans became incensed over a call to pump up the PSI simply speaks to the immaturity of the electorate. It also suggests that the slightest bit of sacrifice is too much for some Americans – the Dennis Leary "I'm An A-hole" vote, perhaps – a fact which some campaigns have not yet learned.

While keeping tires properly inflated is of some measurable benefit, and certainly less sacrifice (and sometimes more cost-effective) than trading in your SUV for a gas-sipper, it's disappointing that some Americans choose to cling to inefficiency as a badge of honor.

*Photo by flickr user aturkus. *