In other campaign news, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton sparred Sunday over a proposal to temporarily suspend the federal gas tax. In an interview on Meet the Press, Obama described the proposal as a Washington gimmick.

Sen. Obama: “This gas tax, which was first proposed by John McCain and then quickly adopted by Senator Clinton, is a classic Washington gimmick. It is a political response to a serious problem that we have neglected for decades. Now, here’s the upshot. You’re looking at suspending a gas tax for three months. The average driver would save thirty cents per day for a grand total of $28. That’s assuming that the oil companies don’t step in and raise prices by the same amount that the tax has been reduced.”

During her appearance on ABC’s This Week, George Stephanopoulos questioned Clinton about her gas tax proposal.

George Stephanopoulos: “Can you name one economist, a credible economist, who supports the suspension?”

Sen. Clinton: “Well, you know, George, I think we’ve been for the last seven years seeing a tremendous amount of government power and elite opinion basically behind policies that haven’t worked well for the middle class and hard-working Americans in America.”

Stephanopoulos: “But can you name an economist who thinks this makes sense?”

Clinton: “Well, I’ll tell you what, I’m not going to put my lot in with economists, because I know if we did it right, if we actually did it right, if we had a president who used all the tools of the presidency, we would design it in such a way that it would be implemented effectively.”