"The thrill that'll get you when you get your picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone..."

Senator Barack Obama is on the cover of the Rolling Stone ... again. The magazine's conversation with Obama is interesting, though mostly fluff (what's on his iPod, what it means to be endorsed by Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen -- you know, the kind of stuff that Radio Free Mo thrives on). The article does probe a bit into Obama's views on ethanol. Obama has been labeled, not unfairly, as a corn ethanol advocate. He has supported subsidies for corn ethanol, and a tariff against far more efficient Brazilian sugar cane ethanol. As explained by the New York Times in June, this has been a sharp point of contrast between Obama and Senator John McCain, who opposes the corn ethanol subsidies and the sugar cane ethanol tariff. While I prefer Obama's overall energy policy to that of McCain's, I have disagreed with Obama's previous support of corn ethanol. My scientist friends have long warned that corn ethanol is a "false alternative." Corn is an inefficient ethanol source, it's not particularly green, widespread use of corn for fuel would drive up food prices and inflation in general, etc. All of their predictions have come to pass. Recently these same scientist friends have put their money where their mouths are, leaving jobs largely driven by the defense industry to join a new venture, PetroAlgae. PetroAlgae aims to produce algae oil, a sustainable, renewable, and carbon neutral petroleum fuel substitute. The good news about the Rolling Stone article is that Obama acknowledges that corn ethanol is a "transitional technology. We've got to invest in alternative fuels. ...[W]e're going to have a transition from corn-based ethanol to cellulosic ethanol, not using food crops as the source of energy. ...What I foresee is us transitioning into other ways of developing these energy sources. The fact that we had corn-based ethanol, and that industry has matured, provides us with distribution networks and infrastructure that can ultimately be used for other ethanol sources."

Now back to the important stuff -- what's on Obama's iPod? His musical hero is Stevie Wonder. “When I was at that point where you start getting involved in music, Stevie had that run with Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Fulfillingness' First Finale and Innervisions, and then Songs in the Key of Life. Those are as brilliant a set of five albums as we’ve ever seen.” Spoken like a true music geek, Obama. He grew up on Earth Wind and Fire, the Rolling Stones and Elton John. His favorite Dylan album is Blood on the Tracks, and he has frequently played selections from Springsteen's The Rising during his campaign (along with Stevie, Aretha Franklin, and U2). His iPod also includes John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Howlin' Wolf, Yo-Yo Ma, Sheryl Crow and Jay-Z. The Rolling Stones' epic "Gimme Shelter" (Let It Bleed, 1969) was one of the few songs Obama identified specifically, and so that classic track is included here.

Radio Free Mo asked Senator McCain what was on his iPod. McCain responded: "iPods are like fat chicks. They are fun to ride, but you wouldn't want your friends to see you on one." His wife Cindy quickly elbowed him, hissing, "That's a moped, not an iPod!" McCain retorted, "Lighten up." (It's unclear whether the Senator was suggesting that Mrs. McCain relax, or that 'fat chicks' lose weight). Then, he asked this reporter: "What the hell's an iPod? And can you use it to kill Iranians?" In the interest of giving McCain equal coverage, we've include a track we're sure he loves -- the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann" (Beach Boys Party!, 1965). (No, Senator, they are not singing "Bomb Iran").