Average U.S. gas prices have jumped 81 cents a gallon this year, to $3.88, and voters have noticed. In recent polls, President Obama is taking the brunt of the political hit, and some analysts say that if gas surpasses its June 2008 record of $4.11 a gallon, Obama's re-election prospects are slim. Citing high gas prices, Obama is arguing that Congress should end the $4 billion in federal subsidies that the oil and gas industries receive. Would that siphon off enough anger to help Obama — or will rising gas prices inevitably spell his political doom?
Blaming Big Oil is Obama's best bet: Obama's taking a pounding on gas prices, but the harsh reality of the global oil market is that there's little he can do about it, says Jay Bookman in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Still, voters "don't want an explanation, they want a solution," so he has to do something. Taking on Big Oil may not lower prices, but "it gives Obama an alternative villain to whom he can point." And that might be enough to save him.
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