“Exxon McCain: Big oil buys another president.”

That’s what Brenda Harding’s sign said, as she proudly held it in front of traffic Wednesday, joining in a nationwide protest against politicians involved in the oil industry. And she said they still have a ways to go.

“I don’t believe in the same old, same old,” said Harding, a registered nurse. “McCain (if elected) is part of the problem, not part of the solution.”

The protest, which took place on the corner of Mill Street and Kietzke Lane in front of a Shell gas station at noon, was an effort organized by the non-profit group MoveOn to bring in an “oil-free president” come November.

And with nearly 200 similar protests happening across the nation, local council coordinator for MoveOn Sandra Kell said the effort has been about education, not protesting oil prices.

“We’re not out here to protest the gas stations, it’s not their fault,” Keller said. “The point we are trying to make is that McCain also has attachments to oil, just like Bush does.”

And considering McCain’s campaign contributions from the likes of Exxon and Chevron have totaled more than a $1 million since 1989, according to the Public Campaign Action Fund, Kell said she stands behind MoveOn and its official endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama, who supports alternative fuel research.

“We want to see progressive people in political positions,” Kell said, explaining that she feels strongly against the war in Iraq, another sentiment she shares with Obama and his campaign. “A vote for McCain is a vote for someone that has very strong ties to the oil industry.”

The local chapter of the MoveOn group includes 10 members, six of whom were present at Wednesday's protest, located strategically between two gas stations that get a lot of nearby traffic.

Members expressed a strong desire for change driving their decision to protest.

“More and more families are deciding between food and gas,” said Lisa Stiller, a MoveOn participant for several years. “We need to start demanding of our elected leaders that we need help right now. We need a short-term solution and a long-term solution.”

These short- and long-term solutions, Stiller said, should come in the form of government subsidies and alternative energy sources, like solar and geothermal power.

“Our leaders need to respond in some way,” Stiller said. “I feel as if no one works in the public’s interest.”

And as busy lunchtime traffic grew thick, cars slowed down, read the signs and some even honked as they passed the protesters and gas prices at unleaded going for $4.19 per gallon.

“The big problem is that we’re going to pay $5 or $6 a gallon soon,” Stiller said. “And our leaders are not doing anything about it.”

For more information, visit the MoveOn Web site at www.moveon.org.