The US presidential campaign has always been a matter of spectacular grandeur!

The candidates rushing in their vote-seeking frenzy in large convoys from one corner of the continent to another– used to create quite a formidable picture! But it rarely occurred to us how much resources were wasted on these nation wide campaigns involving the fleets of hundreds of gas-guzzling SUVS and vans.

But this year we get to see little twist in the story; this year the candidates and other high profile politicians are increasingly being spotted moving in their hybrid vehicles.

Some of them like Democrat aspirant John Edwards even make it a point to let his voters know that he and his family have switched to a hybrid vehicle for family uses after using an ordinary SUV for years. He also promised to make his campaign ‘carbon neutral” as far as possible.

Well, Edwards is not the only one White House aspirant making use of hybrid vehicle as the tramp card for his success in the presidential race! Democrat Senator Barack Obama also makes his environmental concerns clear to the public when he says, that “My campaign leases a flex-fuel vehicle,”

This year’s most sensational candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is however not far behind her democrat colleagues; the former First Lady was reported to request the ‘Secret Service’ to drive her around in a fleet of cars that includes Ford hybrid models.

However, it was Democratic candidate Bill Richardson, the New Mexico governor and former U.S. energy secretary, who made the most out of it. Back in 2005, he bought a Hybrid Escape to set an example before the world. Later he again switched to flex-fuel Chevy Tahoe LTZ on the ground that his 6 ft 2 inches frame does not fit into the compact Escape.

When Democrats are riding green on the hybrid vehicles, the republicans also seem to get the cue; the presidential aspirant from the Republican camp, Mitt Romney has chosen the Ford Escape as the backdrop for declaring his political ambitions.

Until a few years ago, it was the large gang of Hollywood stars that consciously chose to make public display of their affection towards the hybrid cars! Their intention was to motivate the public for adopting greener cars!

This time it is the turn of US politicians to use the hybrid vehicles as their weapon to convey their concerns about environment. There is no doubt that environmental issues are going to play a big role in deciding the fate of the 2008 presidential election. Increasing oil price and increasing US reliance on foreign oil source, green house effect and global warming—-the politicians never seemed to be bitten so hard by the environmental bug as they are now.

Call it a political gimmick or the politicians’ vision about national interest…the fact remains that driving a hybrid vehicle can cut global warming pollution by about one-third compared to the driving of a non-hybrid model! So politicians jetting around in hybrid cars make a pretty picture and send even prettier signal about environment friendliness. So the politicians’ increasing use of hybrid vehicles in their political campaigning should be welcomed with an open mind—just like NRDC spokeswoman Julia Bovey welcomed Edwards’ announcement, saying, “Anyone running for president who claims they’re going to be able to lead this country out of the energy and climate crisis needs to show they can do it in their campaign.”