Poll: Most think president can impact gas prices
AP Photo/Steve Helber
Despite countless assertions by President Obama and his top aides that there is no silver bullet he can fire or magic wand he can wave to quickly bring down gas prices, a CBS News/New York Times poll out tonight shows 54 percent of those surveyed believe that gas prices are something the president "can do a lot about."
And since the price of gasoline has soared 51 cents a gallon since the beginning of the year, the new poll also shows Americans may hold President Obama to blame.
His overall job rating has plummeted from 50 percent in February to 41 percent in the latest survey.
For a president seeking re-election, that spells trouble with a capital "T," though Mr. Obama sounds understanding.
"People are frustrated when gas prices are going up," he said in an interview today with CBS Station KDKA in Pittsburgh. He said there are things his administration can do with respect to gasoline prices, "but they're not going to provide results overnight." (watch at left)Mr. Obama is far from the first president to face public dismay that he can't do something fast to lower gasoline prices.
"There's no such thing as a quick fix," President George W. Bush said about rising gasoline prices in a speech in August 2008. "If I had the magic wand, I'd wave it," he said of his efforts to bring prices down.
"But the president doesn't have a magic wand," he conceded at a news conference a month earlier. "You just can't say: 'low gas.'"
He said it took a while for gasoline prices to reach the point there were at and "and it's going to take us a while to get out of it."
The White House today went to great lengths to cast a spotlight on what it billed as "historic achievements" the administration has made a year after launch its "Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future."
The progress included:
- A cut of 10 percent -- or a million barrels a day - in imports of foreign oil
- An increase in domestic oil and natural gas production in every year so far of the Obama presidency.
- Rigorous fuel efficiency standards that will require average performance equivalent of 54.5 miles per gallon.
Mr. Obama is quick to acknowledge that such progress is of little comfort if Americans are feeling more pain at the pump.
"Despite the gains we've made, today's high gas prices are a painful reminder that there's much more work to do to free ourselves from our dependence on foreign oil and take control of our energy future," said the president in a written statement.
He said "that's exactly what his Administration is committed to doing "in the months ahead."
But his would-be rivals in the Republican presidential field are quick to go further and promise more.
Former Speaker of the House News Gingrich rarely fails to remind supporters that the price of gasoline averaged $1.89 on the day Mr. Obama took office. Gingrich is adamant in declaring that his plan for more domestic production could quickly lead to gasoline at just $2.50-a-gallon. The price tag "$2.50" is on his lectern during campaign events as if it's a presidential seal.
"Any politician who says that is lying," proclaimed White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, referring to the Gingrich claim without mentioning Gingrich by name.
"That strategy does not exist," said Carney. "It is a simple fact that there is no such plan that can guarantee the price of oil or the price at the pump."
MORE FROM THE POLL:
Most GOP voters expect Romney nomination
Most support U.S. military action to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons
Most say employers should be allowed not to cover contraception
Poll: Romney, Santorum narrow gap on Obama
Obama's approval rating sinks to new low
Read the complete poll (PDF)
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IT IS IMPORTANT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY INFORMED & STOP BUYING GOP LIES. GOP Campaign of DECEIT enters 4th decade as they pursue their MOTTO: "fix the data to push the HIDDEN AGENDAS: lie-deceive, fabricate". There are still top notch investigative reports available. INDEPENDENT MEDIA--NPR, PBS, PRI--The World, BBC, Propublica, Media Matters, Free Press, Washington Spectator, Low Down, 60 Minutes & WATCHDOG GROUPS--League of Women Voters, Public Citizen, Common Cause, Center for Public Integrity, Southern Law Poverty Center (SPLC), Americans United(AU.org), environmental groups, etc, do an excellent job.
1)There is a GLUT of oil & gasoline in the U.S. and oil companies are choosing to EXPORT BOTH products out US. Why? They own the GOP, just as the rest of the multinationals do. Then they can get the GOP back into power. BIG OIL gets what they want, like the XL Pipeline and no action of Global Warming, as we get closer to next real cliff. GOP will succeed in destroying US, just as 3 decades of lies allowed derivatives stuffed with junk to damage the economy for the 3rd time--1987 (S&L), 1998 (LTCM), 2008 (Subprime). NPR covered how there is no gasoline or oil shortage on Morning Edition 3-5 &3-7-12 in 2 of several reports that week.
2)NPR also covered how Chevron, Phillips--Conoco, and two other oil companies, who own 90% of GOP, conveniently closed 4 refineries in the last few months, apparently trying to create shortages for the election year, so they can get GOP back into power. After all they have TRILLIONS in oil products they want to sell you & they did produce all those phoney-balony reports. KOCH Industries, who funds and scripts the TEA Party, and Exxon Mobil poured hundreds of millions into corrupt Think Tanks to confuse everyone on Global Warming. They don't care the planet is on a trajectory to become uninhabitable and entire planet will be trashed, w TRILLIONS in damages by 2020.
3) Next economic meltdown is already underway, from 3 decades of lies about Global Warming. There will be TRILLIONS in damages by 2020 because of severe weather events, which cost $52 BIL in 2011 in US, $200 BIL worldwide, and as US cities begin flooding due to sea level rise--New Orleans, Manhattan, San Fran, Tampa, Miami, Sacramento, Boston, etc.
**NPR, TALK, Science Friday 1-22, 3-4, 8-12, 10-21-2011 (Reinventing Fire: grow GDP by 158% w 8 million Green Jobs)
**NPR, PRI 3-8&3-9-2011, 11-15 &12-7-2011 "Stormy Forecast"
**PBS: NOVA--"Secrets Beneath The Ice"
**Tar Sands;by Andrew Nikiforuk; filthy inefficient oil, destroying an area the size of FL in Alberta, Canada while also consuming their natural gas and clean water supplies; puts planet over a cliff by 2015.
**Numerous books: HOT by Mark Hertsgard, Storms of My Grandchildren by J Hansen, Field Notes From A Catastrophe by E. Kolbert, Our Choice, Climate War by Eric Pooley on the GOP DECEIT, also The Heat is On and Boiling Point by Ross Gelbspan
4) Common Cause and League of Women Voters are trying to protect the 2012 elections as GOP work to suppress 5 mil, mostly minority, votes with the help of ALEC pushing the lies about fraud. The only ones who corrupt elections is GOP, like 2000, 2004, 2012. It's well-documented GOP corrupted 2000 election, stopping full-state recount because Gore would win. Rove made 11 million legitimate votes vanish in 2004. (RECOUNT released 2008 by HBO, Newsweek 5-26-08 "Take 2: Bush vs. Gore", also Was the 2004 Presidential Election Stolen by Steven Freeman, answer yes what happened w exit polls was statistically impossible)
5) 1500 Architects, engineers, planned demo experts put together 2 hour documentary, "911: Blueprint for Truth". It covers 10 damning areas of physics for why the World Trade Center buildings came down on 9-11-2001 from high grade explosives: residue in the dust w marks on the girders, fires in basements that lasted 3 months, free fall rate, etc
6) GOP did everything in their power to thwart RECOVERY. Working with BIG OIL to drive up gas prices is just the next step. VOTERS choose to not be informed. They will buy the lies, be easy to dupe, putting this corruption back into power 2012. GOP damaged THE STIMULUS designed by 3 doz economists from LEFT & Rt based on extensive study of GREAT DEPRESSION and every severe RECESSION since then. They limited it to $550 Bil to patch a $1.4 TRIL contraction in GDP caused by 3 decades of lies about deregulation. Then they filbustered help to small businesses in US Senate, because sm business creates > 60% of jobs. They held Budget hostage in 2011 & JOBS BILLS, with a cut and gut mentality. We could be growing GDP by 158% with 8-16 MIL GREEN JOBS, but BIG OIL doesn't want that. (REINVENTING FIRE by rmi.org). THE LIST OF GOP CORRUPTION=EXTENSIVE.
7)Wall Street owns GOP & are driving up oil prices. BE INFORMED TO PROTECT U.S.
Stupid America is alive and well....proven by the fact that it blames Obama for gas prices and so causes his approval rating to go down. What a scared,ignorant mob swayed by right-wing demagogues.
Jimmy Carter and the Iran hostage crisis that allowed Reagan to win in a landslide. Today, Republican president hopeful Santorium drums up war following dropout Michelle Bachman drumming for war with Iran. The oil markets and speculators boost the price of oil over some fear for a future war in the Persian Gulf. War is expensive and it takes lots of oil to fight them by the way.
That by the way was 15 Aug 2008 and the President was GW Bush. Given current inflation rate that $.20/gal would be $4.41 today. Now if Bush wasn't responsible in 2008 (and I dont think he was) then Obama isnt responible in 2012.