Dude, that doesn’t even make any sense
Mitt Romney claimed this week that the Obama administration wants gas prices to be high:
[Romney] called for President Barack Obama to fire what he called the “gas hike trio” of Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson.“These three, this trio of his energy team, have been working like crazy to drive up the price of gasoline. And that’s just what they’ve done,” he said. “Given the fact he’s changed his policy, given the fact he now wants lower gasoline prices, I think its time for him to fire his gas hike trio. It’s time for those three to be let go.”
Newt Gingrich says much the same:
Asked by host Charlie Rose whether he believed the president wanted higher gas prices, Gingrich responded:“Of course… you know that. He has said it himself. Chu, his energy secretary, said in 2008 he wanted gasoline prices to get to the European level, which is $9 or $10 a gallon. Last year, the president said people shouldn’t complain about high gas prices — they ought to buy more efficient cars,” said Gingrich. “The president himself said he wants to get there, he just wants it to be gradual. His policy has been outrageously anti-American [toward] energy.”
And let’s not leave out Rick Santorum:
Santorum then said President Obama actually wants higher gas prices.“He actually believes this is a good thing for America, I don’t,” the former Pennsylvania senator added. “We are not here to serve the Earth, but to be stewards of the Earth.”
So, okay. We all know this doesn’t even make any sense, right? We all know that President Obama is fully aware that the success of his reelection campaign may well rest on the price of a gallon of gas. I know that it’s stupid for that to even be true but, in a country where our elections are dominated in large part by people who don’t pay attention and believe whatever fits into their small worldview, it’s very possible that President Obama will not be judged on what he has accomplished but, rather, on something he has no control over and which isn’t even his fault.
But the idea that he would actually WANT gas prices to be high, knowing the impact that has on our economy and on the lives of all Americans? I mean come ON, that is just illogical. Why would he want something that would hurt him politically and, more important, would hurt the country and the economy when things are already bad?
That. Doesn’t. Make. Sense.
[CC image credit: Cesar Astudillo | Flickr]
