Hey, what happened to the political frenzy over gas prices?
I need you to think back — way, way back in the day — back to when gasoline prices were the hottest political controversy around, when Obama administration policies were said to be driving the world price of oil, and thus the cost of fuel at the pump.
You remember: John Boehner was traveling to Texas to pose next to drilling equipment? Mitt Romney accused the administration of being “on a mission to drive up the price of gasoline and all energy so that they can finally get their solar and their wind to be more price-competitive.” Gas prices were the focus of a political and media frenzy.
How long ago was that? Two weeks, maybe three?
And now, suddenly, silence?
If one didn’t know better, one might think that crass opportunism had been at play rather than actual concern for national energy policy. Surely, the fact that the gas prices have begun to fall and are now 12 cents a gallon cheaper than they were a year ago has nothing to do with that phenomenon, right?
I know I’m not supposed to do this. I know that injecting actual charts and actual data into the debate is a cheap liberal trick. But hey, it’s what I do. First, let’s take a look at gasoline prices:
And now let’s look at what U.S. crude oil production has done since January 2009, when that Marxist Kenyan started shutting down all the oil wells in the United States as part of his plot to leave us defenseless against his fellow Muslims in OPEC and force us to turn to socialistic solar panels.
Given evidence like that, I can’t imagine why the Republicans and their friends at Fox have suddenly fallen silent on this issue, can you?
– Jay Bookman
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251 comments Add your comment
GT
May 1st, 2012
12:06 pm
Jonah Goldberg was on Pier Morgan last night debating with his knee jerk responses, to legitimate questions. The right does not want to talk about Bin Laden and when they do it is the “attack” of Obama on Romney. Goldberg kept trying to curve the conversation back to the economy and with talking points designed to withstand 200 mile a hour hurricane winds of objection, continued to expound on how this was Obama’s economy. These are the exact same talking points Ari Fleischer used later on in the night, almost the same words, mass production is going well at the GOP. What I wonder is how long does it take to retool this factory of plastic mouth pieces. Economic news is flooding in that our ship is righting, very opposite news from the English angle where GOP type economic formulas have dunked them under for a second time. What the Republicans have depended upon to be a Democratic weakness by fall very well may be a strength. While Romney has retool his approach to women and minorities after the primaries to pretend that stuff he was brewing in the deep south never happened, he and his party can’t move mass ad attacks around quick enough to adjust to current situations they couldn’t predict 6 months ago. It is almost like O lured them in and then pulled the hook, and the hot aired pundits can’t mass produce the misinformation fast enough to sound credible or keep up with reality as Pier challenged Goldberg to do.
TiredOfIt
May 1st, 2012
12:10 pm
Why are republicans so upset by changes in the price of gas, but seem to have no problems with spending a trillion dollars on unfunded wars? Also, if you want jobs to come back to the US, higher oil prices is about the only way it is going to happen.
The Thin Guy
May 1st, 2012
12:11 pm
Last night I filled the flivver up for only $ 50 bucks. Who should I thank? Bookman? Jug Ears? Due to ØBummer economics my driving is limited to going to and from work (work is what you have to do to get money when you are not getting a government check) and the grocery store (really miss Web Van). Hopefully, after January 20, 2013, I’ll be able to afford a vacation to an exotic locale like Stone Mountain Park or the Georgia Aquarium. Time to Wok the Dog.
Peter
May 1st, 2012
12:14 pm
Must have been the Bush War that got the gas prices down… But hey 3 Trillion dollars was worth it correct GOP ?
Shawny
May 1st, 2012
12:17 pm
Oh, geez Bookman. With rhetoric like this, it is hard to take you seriously.
Yes production is up and not down. That is good. Prices are down, but only slightly. They are STILL way over what the market should require given supply and demand (Delta knows, and they are getting smart with their own refinery).
“Marxist Kenyan started shutting down all the oil wells in the United States as part of his plot to leave us defenseless against his fellow Muslims in OPEC and force us to turn to socialistic solar panels.” – over the top.
“Republicans and their friends at Fox” – over the top. Try to act a little non-partisan every once in a while.
Oblama
May 1st, 2012
12:19 pm
Oil prices have nothing to do with class warfare/ race warfare/ sex warfare/ age warfare/ victim warfare. etc. etc. etc. Sooooooooo……… why is Jay talking about something relevant to this election for a change? Smoke and mirrors. Oil prices are still VERY high and he wants you to think otherwise. Sorry Jay…. you are not convincing. I’m not buying what you are smoking.
MiltonMan
May 1st, 2012
12:22 pm
How come no more opinion pieces on the savior of the democrats – none other than Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren??? White woman speaks with forked tongue:
http://bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/view.bg?articleid=1061128421&format=comments#CommentsArea
JB
May 1st, 2012
12:29 pm
Very simple. The people who work, have careers to protect, children to educate, a standard of living they have worked hard to protect, will vote for Romney. Those who don’t have that, or want it, or can’t get to it, will vote for the one with the big ears. It’s really pretty simple.
Geez..
May 1st, 2012
12:35 pm
Boring…………………
Geez..
May 1st, 2012
12:35 pm
Watching paint dry is more exciting….
Geez..
May 1st, 2012
12:36 pm
Watching grass grow is more exciting….
Geez..
May 1st, 2012
12:37 pm
https://www.google.com/doodles/st-georges-day-the-30th-anniversary-of-the-zx-spectrum
Geez..
May 1st, 2012
12:37 pm
https://www.google.com/doodles/perseid-meteor-shower
commoncents
May 1st, 2012
12:44 pm
Interesting phenomenon here… When those blue bars on Jay’s graph peak toward the end of the year, that squigly line goes down!
And this from an AJC article this morning: “Experts attribute the declining price of oil to a number of factors, including reduced demand, a recent spike in U.S. oil output and economic concerns in Europe.”
US oil output, huh? I could have sworn someone repeatedly said that our oil production won’t affect anything.
Oblama
May 1st, 2012
12:50 pm
Unfortunately for Oblama the real world outside of the Disney Land known as D.C. knows that gas prices are high because we experience them every day. This is not going away like Jay and Oblama want. Oblama leaves a huge carbon foot print every time he spends tax payers money jetting across the world at his pleasure visiting dictators left and right and he goes on our dime. .
GT
May 1st, 2012
12:51 pm
You can thank the world economy. The Chinese emerging market is drinking from the same pool of oil we are and everybody else in the world. America is using less oil and producing more oil than anytime in our history. Since we don’t need it the boys in Texas sell it at market prices to the highest bidder. Sometimes that is users and other time speculators, but the economic condition of this country have very little to do with it.
You can blame some of it on you as a consumer wanting cheaper cell phones, solar panels, outdoor grills and hundreds of other products American industry depends on Chinese labor to produce cheaper. These US companies, then, can make huge profits while sitting on the money and not redistributing it to the US economy, while standing up China’s economy. You ,the party that won’t tax, because it is unAmerican, while your red white and blue is shipping it out of the country, can take a lot of this blame. Both money to tax havens, oil to the highest bidder, receiving the profits in third world countries, shell corporations, so they are exempt from US tax all are GOP ideas of the American dream. Chinese investors, who have immorally prostituted their labor force almost to a slave level, then buy US Savings Bonds, earned from the greed of the American consumer, and corporate sector.
You know what I would do? I would tell these corporations if they want to sell product in this country they will have to pay taxes in this country. If you are operating in a foreign country strictly for tax purposes suddenly your patents and intellectual property is defaulted. Knock offs can become legal here almost like they do in the far east, only not instead of contraband they are encouraged. Why protect pirates that undermine our economy? Of course that would practically dissolve the Republican Party which is the apologist of the pirates. But for the rest of us life would start coming back to normal, China wouldn’t need the oil, so world wide prices would drop, taxes would be paid by either the company who filed the patent or the knock off company now protected by us and the national debt would slowly disappear. Lets make this jungle the right wants so bad benefit us not our enemies.
Oblama
May 1st, 2012
12:52 pm
Oblama to the dictator of Russia (Putin)…. can’t help you now – just wait until after the election for your pay off.
Oblama
May 1st, 2012
12:54 pm
GT is drinking the “occupy” cool aid.
Oblama
May 1st, 2012
12:56 pm
Priceless …. Biden questioning someone’s I.Q.
Erwin's cat
May 1st, 2012
12:56 pm
still $3.80/gal…is flat the new up?
lil 99er
May 1st, 2012
12:56 pm
only my cubile really knows how i feel.
GT
May 1st, 2012
1:04 pm
Cheap Kool aid made in China, helps make more expensive gas prices, not Obama.
Jack
May 1st, 2012
1:26 pm
Gotta get my Hummer filled up real quick before gas prices go back up.
The Austrian Brotherhood
May 1st, 2012
1:36 pm
It’s not liberal, it’s Progressive. Ya hijacking scum bag.
Moderate Line
May 1st, 2012
1:37 pm
Jay
May 1st, 2012
9:39 am
“Jay, the July 2008 spike in gas prices was due to a temporary supply problem – it was a spike and was not indicative of any long-term trend.”
Wrong, Frontman.
The price was $2.88 in August 2007; $3.16 in January ‘08; $3.50 in April ‘08; $3.77 in May ‘08 and $4.16 in July ‘08.
Facts. You gotta luv ‘em.
++++
Incorrect. In 2007 average gas prices were $2.64, 2008 they were $3.01 and then $2.14. If that is not a spike I don’t know what is. However, there is a long term trend since 2000.
Looking further at monthly prices:
There is a long ter a long term trend and a spike.
Gas was at $4.23 a gallan in NY in June of 2008 by Jan 2008 gas was at $1.88 per gallon. Gas prices have yet hit the record level it hit in 2008 even though we have a steady increase.
The sudden increase in 2008 was a spike. The steady increase that has been occurring since the 90’s is a trend.
http://www.davemanuel.com/2010/12/30/historical-gas-prices-in-the-united-states/
http://www.nyserda.ny.gov/Page-Sections/Energy-Prices-Supplies-and-Weather-Data/Motor-Gasoline/Monthly-Average-Motor-Gasoline-Prices.aspx
Casual Observer
May 1st, 2012
1:47 pm
Wake me when gas is around 2 bucks a gallon, then we’ll talk. Until then, his energy policies are to blame, don’t care what BS charts you post, or what nut job liberals opinions are.
Moderate Line
May 1st, 2012
2:03 pm
Jay
May 1st, 2012
8:20 am
you’re more than a little nuts.
++++
You don’t agree with someone so you resort to name calling. Sad. Where did I say I wanted to recreate such a spike. I indicated there were both a long term trend and a spike. The price of gas has not reach the levels it was at in 2008. Current prices are well below as the links indicate.
Name calling. Plus I have several people in my family who have mental disorders so I think that is way out of line.
Tom(Independent-Viet Vet)
May 1st, 2012
2:09 pm
Jay, you do realize it’s May 1st(Mayday), shouldn’t you be out protesting somewhere with the Occu-tards?? Take your fan club with you please. Oh yes, I almost forgot, even though it is 3 1/2 yrs ago, Blame Bush!!!!!!!!!!!!
ken
May 1st, 2012
2:11 pm
Isreal has not hit Iran, yet.
James
May 1st, 2012
2:16 pm
Jay, this same thing happened when George Bush was president, by the liberal Democrats.. Don’t you remember? You sure have a short memory when it comes to liberal biases!
Tommy Maddox
May 1st, 2012
2:37 pm
“If the world oil price doesn’t change, the domestic oil price doesn’t change. That’s just a fact, and short of nationalizing the American oil industry, you can’t change that fact.”
Jay Bookman, 2/17/12
I guess this, taken with the premise of the present column, would infer that our exalted leader is doing something to lower the world wide price of oil. It would appear that the President, NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox News are all keeping his method secret.
OBIWAN
May 1st, 2012
2:38 pm
Funny how cartels are illegal except when it is price fixing on gas…I have a test how about we announce that we will begin drilling here in our oil fields, whether we do or not, I would bet that the price would drop dramatically…
Oblama
May 1st, 2012
3:41 pm
According to the Huckabee report Oblama has already set a new record for fund raising events for Presidential coffers. With several months still to go Oblama has had 124 fund raisers beating the old record of 94 fund raisers by Bill Clinton. What caught my attention was that 20 of the fund raisers were outside of the U.S.A. in foreign countries. Dare I say “One World Government”?
Oblama
May 1st, 2012
3:51 pm
Progressive is just a sweet word for LIBERAL. Definition of LIBERAL (progressive): I’m going to save the world with your money
Oblama
May 1st, 2012
3:52 pm
GT – Are you smoking that Kool Aide through a crack pipe?
Oblama
May 1st, 2012
3:54 pm
Oblama’s promises sound like this : blah, blah, blah, blah, blah……………………………………….
Oblama
May 1st, 2012
3:55 pm
Big Bro Oblama is watching.
Oblama
May 1st, 2012
3:56 pm
gone today – here tomorrow.
SPC
May 1st, 2012
4:04 pm
The charts, by themselves, suggest that cost is independent from supply. The oil market is a world wide market and supply, demand, and cost need to be viewed in that context. The article is misleading.
Oblama
May 1st, 2012
4:04 pm
Three stooges – Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden.
Oblama
May 1st, 2012
4:06 pm
Jay did you take economics at Stalingrad University?
Oblama
May 1st, 2012
4:07 pm
Oblama reminds me of GT – They both have a high school offense.
Latest Price Of Gas News : Oil and Energy News
May 1st, 2012
4:30 pm
[...] Hey, what happened to the political frenzy over gas prices? I need you to think back — way, way back in the day — back to when gasoline prices were the hottest political controversy around, when Obama administration policies were said to be driving the world price of oil, and thus the cost of fuel at the pump. Read more on Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
May 1st, 2012
4:53 pm
No need to keep talking about it because everybody knows it is still horrible. Just drive up to a gas pump.
You have a tough job, Jay – defending the indefensible – our Supreme Leader. Do you get combat pay at the ajc?
Martin Williams
May 1st, 2012
4:56 pm
Jay you are right again and always. Few weeks ago, the first words coming out Mitt Romney’s mouth was the high price of gas and the Q, are you better off today than three years ago?. Now for the past few days he is not even going close to that subject, energy. Big fool Newth said he will bring gas price to $2.50. Fools like Newth, John Baohner, or Mitt Romney do not even pump gas into their cars. The price of gas will go up again in few weeks. I know these companies do this kind of stuff two times a year and the politicians know it too. I will state this again, I hope gas price will get to like $5.50 a gallon which will be close to the European price and then we will stop complaining. I mean $5 plus permanently.
Higher prices = higher production
May 1st, 2012
5:18 pm
Geez, takes a Jethro Bodine 6th grade education to figure that one out. Many wells are idled when prices drop as there is no reason to pump (marginal cost greater than world price-marginal price). Prices go up and more magically becomes available (higher cost wells are now put into production). You do understand this, correct? (especially when we have numerous wells in this country that are high cost ones vs. the Middle East, etc.)
atljack
May 1st, 2012
5:40 pm
While you right wingers are making up “facts”… you might go to: http://www.eia.gov/
(U.S Dept of Energy where they keep historical records)
1993 – Clinton takes office… gas is $1.15 per gallon (unleaded regular).
1999 – Clinton leaves office $1.16 (virtually no increase for 8 years).
2000- Bush takes office and gas jumps from $1.19 to $1.51 in his first 6 months in office.
2007 gas rises to $2.80.
2008 gas rises to $3.26.
Jan 2009 Obama takes office. Gas DROPS to $2.35
Then gas rises and falls according to global price of oil.
So all those saying that gas was low under W. Bush are “mistaken”.
Gas was at $3.26 BEFORE Obama ever took office.
TaxmyEnemies
May 1st, 2012
6:13 pm
Let’s all blame the oil companies for the economy, flu outbreaks and low self-esteem. Let’s raise their tax rate until they’re crying for mercy. Let’s do all that right after we tax the Hollywood millionaires. That’s a group with tons of money and no contribution to our society. Oh wait, they’re democrats. Never mind.
c0nspiracy
May 1st, 2012
6:14 pm
you have to realize that both political sides are aligned with the oil companies who, each yea set new records for profits, and will do so again this year. While we, the consumer suffers in the cost of getting to and from work. They use tactics such as predicting $4 and $5 per gallon gas so that we are happy to pay only $3.50. Until prices are more in line with where they should be, no more than $2 or $2.50 per and the cost to get to and from work isn’t such a burden. The economy will never truly recover. The more we are forced to spend on fuel the less we have to spend on other products which would create jobs as the demands for these products increase. Our only course of action is to buy only necessities, drive only when we must, combining trips whenever possible. Vote against all incumbents. If you vote a party line you are part of the problem. Vote for the person, not for the party.
[PEUSA]: Oil Drilling Advocates Drive Presidential Debate With Ads (Bloomberg) | INFLUENCE with Jesse Parent
May 2nd, 2012
1:20 pm
[...] Hey, what happened to the political frenzy over gas prices? (blogs.ajc.com) [...]
Adam
May 2nd, 2012
2:37 pm
And gas prices STILL haven’t gotten to the highest level they were at under Bush. just FYI people.