When I see John McCain's TV commercials I don't know whether to laugh or cry. He claims to be a "straight talker" but his advertising is painfully misleading.

One of his commercials says "Washington is broken." McCain has been in Washington 26 years and has voted with George Bush over 90 percent of the time.

No wonder it's broken.

McCain claims to support alternative energy, but that's a lie. In this past year, McCain has missed every Senate vote on alternative energy, and not voting is the same as voting "no."

In December, legislation to invest in alternative energy and to eliminate billions of dollars in tax breaks to Big Oil failed by just one vote. McCain missed that vote. In February, McCain skipped a vote on extending tax credits to alternative energy companies, which also failed by one vote.

Both times, McCain was the only senator absent.

Once, McCain was actually in his office in Washington, but couldn't be bothered to go to the Senate to cast a vote.

Why? He doesn't want to anger his campaign contributors at Big Oil. He votes to give billions of dollars in tax breaks to Exxon-Mobil even when they are earning record profits year after year -- while we keep paying more and more at the pump.

Alternative energy is the key to independence from foreign oil. Alternative energy could lead to thousands of new jobs right here in Pennsylvania.

Alternative energy can compete with Big Oil on an even playing field. But instead John McCain votes to give huge tax breaks to companies like Exxon-Mobil so Big Oil keeps the advantage.

It makes me wonder why there are so many windmills in John McCain's TV commercials, when he only cares about dirty energy and campaign contributions.

Steven Patterson,

Sunbury