Beyond the Dome

Here's one of the day's weirdest twists in the presidential race: John McCain criticized Barack Obama today for voting with President Bush on a bill McCain opposed.

Not exactly a help to the McCain-is-Bush's-third-term narrative Obama is trying to set up.

The bill in question was the energy legislation Bush signed into law in 2005, and Obama was one of 25 Democrats who voted for it. (The final version got 74 votes in the Senate.) But McCain voted against it, and called out Obama in his speech last night for voting for "the same policies that created the problem."

Earlier today, at a press conference in Baton Rouge, McCain stuck to his story -- even as reporters pointed out that it was the bill Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney wanted.

"The energy bill was a failure. We are paying a price for 16 years of failure to address this nation's energy requirements and needs. And now it is a burden being borne by Americans, particularly those on fixed income, is incredibly harsh," McCain said at the press conference.

"And so, all I can say is that I disagreed with that energy bill. Senator Obama has criticized the energy policy, yet he voted for the bill that gave a whole bunch of tax breaks to special interests," McCain said. "That's one of the reasons why I pointed it out."

At the time, Obama said he voted for the bill because it would double the use of ethanol -- a major regional concern for an Illinois senator -- and create a tax credit for the construction of E85 ethanol fueling stations.