Welcome Back, Carter

Obama Has Presided Over an Increase in Gas Prices Surpassed Only by One-Term President Jimmy Carter, But Democrats Aren’t Done Yet 

• President Obama’s failed economic policies are threatening to topple Jimmy Carter’s record of economic misery. According to a comparison of historical data on gas prices, the increase in gas prices under President Obama is now second only to Jimmy Carter’s among recent presidents and rising.
• It’s hardly surprising that President Obama has earned this dishonorable distinction given that his administration has repeatedly demonstrated Washington Democrats’ outright hostility to increasing American energy production.
• Given that President Obama and his cabinet officials have repeatedly made clear that increasing gas prices is a priority for the Obama administration, Democrats are no doubt celebrating this latest milestone in failure, despite the pain it causes for struggling American families.

President Obama’s failed economic policies are threatening to topple Jimmy Carter’s record of economic misery. According to a comparison of historical data on gas prices, the increase in gas prices under President Obama is now second only to Jimmy Carter’s among recent presidents and rising:

INCREASE IN GAS PRICES OVER OBAMA’S TERM TO DATE SECOND ONLY TO JIMMY CARTER

 (Series ID: APU000074714, “Gasoline, Unleaded Regular, Per Gallon/3.785 Liters,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 2/28/2012; “Petroleum & Other Liquids,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, Accessed 2/29/2012)

It’s hardly surprising that President Obama has earned this dishonorable distinction given that his administration has repeatedly demonstrated Washington Democrats’ outright hostility to increasing American energy production:

OBAMA REJECTED THE JOB-CREATING KEYSTONE PIPELINE THAT WOULD HAVE INCREASED AMERICAN ENERGY INDEPENDENCE:

“THE ANTI-JOBS PRESIDENT” REJECTS JOB-CREATING KEYSTONE PIPELINE: (Editorial, “The Anti-Jobs President,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/19/2012)

GREEN GROUPS THREATENED TO ABANDON OBAMA IF HE APPROVED KEYSTONE: “Environmental groups have been protesting the pipeline that would run from Alberta oil sands to Texas refineries, and there have been rumblings that greens would abandon Obama next fall if he approved it.” (Dan Berman and Darren Goode, “Obama Punts Keystone XL Pipeline,” Politico, 11/10/2011)

NATIONAL JOURNAL ANALYSIS: “U.S. ECONOMY MISSED OUT ON CREATING UP TO A QUARTER-MILLION JOBS” IN 2011 BECAUSE IT “LACKED [ENERGY] INFRASTRUCTURE”: “The U.S. economy missed out on creating up to a quarter-million jobs this year because it lacked the infrastructure to capitalize on a rare divergence in global oil prices, a National Journal analysis shows.” (Jim Tankersley, “A Crude Hit to the Recovery,” National Journal, 11/29/2011)

INCREASING ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGH KEYSTONE XL WOULD LIMIT PRICE SPIKES IN FUTURE:“There’s no evidence that the oil industry manipulated the price spread to boost refining profits; the companies just appear to be benefiting from the nation’s inability to move cheaper oil around freely. Energy industry groups say expanding America’s pipeline infrastructure – including potential Obama administration approval of the Keystone XL pipeline to carry oil south from Canada – would minimize the odds of another wide price split in the future.” (Jim Tankersley, “A Crude Hit to the Recovery,” National Journal, 11/29/2011)

DEMOCRATS ARE STILL SABOTAGING OFFSHORE DRILLING LEASES:

RECENT ISSUANCE OF NEW LEASES AT ONE-THIRD OF HISTORICAL AVERAGE: “According to the Greater New Orleans Gulf Permits Index for January 31, over the previous three months the feds issued an average of three deep-water drilling permits a month compared to the historical average of seven. Over the same three months, the feds approved an average of 4.7 shallow-water permits a month, compared to the historical average of 14.7.”(Editorial, ” ‘Stupid’ and Oil Prices,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/24/2012)

OFFSHORE LEASING MUCH MORE DIFFICULT, SLOWER UNDER OBAMA POLICIES: “Approval of an offshore drilling plan now takes 92 days, 31 more than the historical average. And so far in 2012, an average of 23% of all drilling plans have been approved, compared to the average of 73.4%.” (Editorial, ” ‘Stupid’ and Oil Prices,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/24/2012)

OBAMA MORATORIUM ON GULF DRILLING “TAKING ITS TOLL” AND “MIGHT AS WELL STILL BE IN EFFECT”:“Small- and medium-size businesses serving Louisiana’s energy industry are shedding employees, dipping into personal savings or moving elsewhere to stay afloat. The administration’s war on fossil fuels is taking its toll.

“The federal six-month moratorium on drilling that was issued in May 2010, after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, has been officially lifted, but it might as well still be in effect.” (“Gulf Deepwater Drilling Ban’s Hidden Victims,” Investor’s Business Daily, 1/31/2012)

GULF BUSINESSES FRET THAT “PERMITORIUM” REMAINS IN PLACE: “They’re calling it a ‘permitorium’ caused by stricter regulations that are allowing gulf drilling, but at a snail’s pace, in both deep and shallow water.” (Katie Moore, “New Study: Small Businesses Hit Hardest by Drilling Delays,” WWL TV, 1/31/2012)

OBAMA’S MORATORIUM ON OFFSHORE DRILLING SHRANK PRODUCTION IN THE GULF OF MEXICO: “But that same report provides ammunition for Republicans, because it predicts that in the short term, oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, where the Obama administration placed a moratorium on new deep-water exploratory drilling after the Gulf oil spill, will show a decline in 2011 and this year before rebounding later.” (Dina Cappiello, “Fact Check: Obama, GOP Spin Recent Energy Stats,” Associated Press, 2/5/2012)

OBAMA HAS RESCINDED SEVERAL LEASES FOR OIL EXPLORATION: “Republicans and the oil and gas industry focus on federal lands, because that’s where the government controls access and permitting to drill. There, Obama’s record is mixed. … Soon after Obama took office, the Interior Department rescinded 77 leases in Utah because of their close proximity to national parks, later reinstating 17 of them.

“Then weeks before the 2010 Gulf oil spill, Obama said he would consider expanding drilling off the Virginia coast and Alaska, only to scrap or delay those plans after the spill. And just last week the Interior Department, after completing a preliminary environmental review, said it would offer up thousands fewer acres for oil shale development in three Western states than President George W. Bush had.” (Dina Cappiello, “Fact Check: Obama, GOP Spin Recent Energy Stats,” Associated Press, 2/5/2012)

Given that President Obama and his cabinet officials have repeatedly made clear that increasing gas prices is a priority for the Obama administration, Democrats are no doubt celebrating this latest milestone in failure, despite the pain it causes for struggling American families:

OBAMA WANTED ENERGY PRICES TO “NECESSARILY SKYROCKET” UNDER HIS CAP-AND-TRADE PLAN: ” ‘Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket,’ Obama told the Chronicle. ‘Coal-powered plans, you know, natural gas, you name it, whatever the plans were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.”(Catherine Richert, “Pence Claims that Obama said Energy Costs Will Skyrocket with a Cap-and-Trade Plan,” PolitiFact.com, 6/11/2009)

ENERGY SECRETARY STEPHEN CHU THIS WEEK SAID LOWERING GAS PRICES WAS NOT A GOAL FOR HIS DEPARTMENT: “COMMITTEE QUESTION: “But, is the overall goal to get our price lower?” SEC. STEVEN CHU: “No, the overall goal is to decrease our dependency on oil…” (Remarks from Stephen Chu, U.S. House Of Representatives, Appropriations Committee, Hearing, 2/28/2012) 

FLASHBACK TO CHU IN SEPTEMBER 2008: “SOMEHOW WE HAVE TO FIGURE HOW TO BOOST THE PRICE OF GASOLINE TO THE LEVELS IN EUROPE”: ” ‘Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe,’ Mr. Chu, who directs the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in September.”(Neil King, Jr. and Stephen Power, “Times Tough for Energy Overhaul,”The Wall Street Journal, 12/12/2008)

“CURRENT PRICES OF GAS IN EUROPE”:

ITALY: $9.24 Per Gallon

GERMANY: $8.36 Per Gallon

FRANCE: $8.33 Per Gallon

UK:  $8.26 Per Gallon

(“Actual Prices Per On Liter Of Fuel,” Europe’s Energy Portal, Accessed 2/28/2012)