I admit that every once and a while I find myself as confused as Tom, but I'll have to swallow my shame and ask "huh?". It's hard to see how McCain's plan would benefit oil companies, beyond maintaining demand that otherwise might have fallen...was that your point? Seems neutral, since consumers would benefit equally from being able to buy the gas. OTOH, it's hard to see McCain's plan substantially benefitting anybody, either--it seems a politically motivated gesture, much like the $600 rebate that nobody expects to make the slightest difference. The gas tax holiday would cost about $10B and presumably would inject that mount into the economy, and the total of all McCain's gestures amounts to $195B, just a bit more than the rebate plan.

What's a bit more interesting is that McCain's plan is just a regurgitation of Republican dogma: Cut taxes when the economy's booming, cut taxes when the economy's in trouble. He promises to borrow the best ideas from both parties (which must have RightWingers across the nation bleeding from the ears), but in reality it's hard to see any influence outside the dogma box. McCain admits that ecnomics is not his strong suit, and this is just more evidence that he'll try to address that deficit by falling back on failed dogma.