Research Briefing

Since Barack Obama Has Taken Office, Gasoline Prices Have More Than Doubled With No Relief In Sight For Americans

PAIN AT THE PUMP – AMERICANS ARE PAYING TWICE AS MUCH FOR A GALLON OF GASOLINE AS THEY DID WHEN OBAMA TOOK OFFICE

Gasoline Prices Have Doubled Since Obama Took Office. “Feeling pain at the pump? Gas prices have doubled since Mr. Obama took office.” (James S. Robbins, “Gasoline Up 100% Under Obama,” The Washington Times’ “Water Cooler” Blog, 3/30/11) 

• Gas Price Hikes Are “Relentless.” “The relentless rise in retail gasoline prices continued over the last week, the U.S. Energy Department said, with some analysts predicting that fuel prices could test record highs.” (Ronald D. White, “Gasoline Prices Climb In California And The Nation,” Los Angeles Times, 4/19/11)

 The Average American Household Will Spend At Least $700 More On Gasoline In 2011, Increasing Motor Fuel Expenses By At Least 28 Percent. “The average U.S. household will spend about $700 more for gasoline in 2011 than it spent last year, bringing total motor fuel expenses up 28 percent to $3,235, based on an annual pump price of $3.61 a gallon, the department's Energy Information Administration said.”(Tom Doggett, “Gasoline Cost To Jump $700 For Average Household,” Reuters, 3/9/11)

OBAMA’S “SOLUTIONS” RANGE FROM RIDICULOUS TO RECYCLED

Obama’s Solution For Pain At The Pump? Trade In Your Car

Obama Needled A Questioner About Gas Prices, Suggesting The Individual Should Trade In His Car If He Was Only Getting 8 Miles Per Gallon.  “Obama needled one questioner who asked about gas prices, now averaging close to $3.70 a gallon nationwide, and suggested that the gentleman consider getting rid of his gas-guzzling vehicle. ‘If you’re complaining about the price of gas and you’re only getting 8 miles a gallon, you know,’ Obama said laughingly. ‘You might want to think about a trade-in.’” (Darlene Superville, “Obama: Expect Little Short-Term Relief On Gas Prices,” The Associated Press, 4/6/11)

• NOTE: The Questioner Has Ten Kids In His Family, Requiring A Van. OBAMA: “If you’re complaining about the price of gas and you’re only getting eight miles a gallon -- (laughter) -- you may have a big family, but it’s probably not that big.  How many you have?  Ten kids, you say?  Ten kids?  (Laughter.)  Well, you definitely need a hybrid van then.  (Laughter.)” (President Barack Obama, Remarks At Town Hall, Fairless Hills, PA, 4/6/11)

Obama’s Solution? Recycle 2008 Campaign Idea And Go After Speculators

2011: “President Barack Obama On Tuesday Blamed Speculators For Driving Gasoline Prices Higher And Straining American Consumers, Saying There Was Enough Oil In World Markets To Meet Demand.” (Jeff Mason, “Obama Blames Speculators For Rising Fuel Prices,” Reuters, 4/19/11)

• Obama: “The problem is, is that oil is sold on these world markets, and speculators and people make various bets, and they say, you know what, we think that maybe there’s a 20 percent chance that something might happen in the Middle East that might disrupt oil supply, so we’re going to bet that oil is going to go up real high. And that spikes up prices significantly.” (Barack Obama, Remarks At Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale, VA, 4/19/11)

2008: Obama Suggested Going After Oil Speculators To Ease Gasoline Prices. “Senator Barack Obama on Sunday proposed tightening the regulation of oil speculators in an effort to ease record high gasoline prices and address one of Americans’ top concerns.” (Brian Knowlton, “To Ease Gas Prices, Obama Eyes Speculators,” The New York Times, 6/23/08)

• The Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire: “Obama Takes Aim At Energy Speculators.” (“Obama Takes Aim At Energy Speculators,” The Wall Street Journal’s “Washington Wire” Blog, 6/22/08)

Another Obama Solution From The Archives: Inflate Your Tires!

In 2008, Obama Claimed That Properly Inflating Your Tires Could Save As Much Oil As Produced From Offshore Drilling. OBAMA: “There are things that you can do individually though to save energy; making sure your tires are properly inflated, simple thing, but we could save all the oil that they’re talking about getting off drilling, if everybody was just inflating their tires and getting regular tune-ups. You could actually save just as much.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Springfield, MO, 7/30/08)

• NOTE: FactCheck.Org Determined That Obama “Greatly Exaggerated” His Claim That Properly Inflated Tires Could Save As Much Oil Produced From Offshore Drilling. “But we also figure that expanded offshore drilling is projected to produce far more oil eventually than can be saved by proper tire inflation – nearly three times as much even by the conservative estimate of government experts, and more than 10 times as much if an industry-endorsed estimate is correct. And even taking into account additional fuel savings from tune-ups, which Obama also mentioned, he greatly exaggerated.” (FactCheck.Org, “The Truth About Tire Pressure,” www.factcheck.org, 8/14/08)