Politics
No easy solution to reducing gas prices – Obama
In the Republican address, Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison blamed the rise in gasoline prices partly on the Obama administration, which she said has blocked some potential new sources of oil and gas.
“We can’t slow down global demand for oil and gas, but we can do a lot more here at home to assure that we have the energy we need and to halt skyrocketing costs,” she said. “President Obama’s policy has resulted in an unprecedented slowdown in new exploration and production of oil and gas.”
For all the political claims, economists say there’s not much a president of either party can do about gasoline prices. Certainly not in the short term. But it’s clear that people are concerned, a new Associated Press-GfK poll says 7 in 10 Americans find the issue deeply important, so it’s sure to be a political issue through the summer.
The price of gasoline, which is made from crude oil, has soared with oil prices. The national average jumped by nearly 12 cents per gallon in a week, with state averages above US$4 per gallon in California, Alaska and Hawaii.
At US$3.65 per gallon, gasoline is still below last year’s high of US$3.98 and the record US$4.11 set in 2008.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press
