Despite Obama’s positive attempts to raise support as the presidential elections approach, there’s one aspect that will surely damage his second bid. The escalating gas prices are a problem that besides taking down Obama’s chances for a re-election are strongly impacting everyday life for already challenged Americans. On Thursday, the president’s sought after answer to the surging gas prices didn’t deliver much hope.
For several years now, the end of each month finds Americans worried about their bills. From utility to food and gas, everything is a lot more expensive than what most of Americans can handle. Now that the gas prices are on a continuous escalation the thought of the upcoming bills surely causes nightmares.
President Obama wanted to show citizens he is aware of the gas prices problem. Thus he appeared in front of the camera and public this Thursday to attempt and calm spirits down. His speech wasn’t exactly full of hope nor gave signs things will change too soon.
Obama didn’t miss the opportunity to talk back at the critics in the Republican party saying: “Only in politics do people root for bad news, do they greet bad news so enthusiastically. You pay more; they’re licking their chops”. However, Obama seems to forget that Americans are aware he’s just as much a politician as people with the GOP.
Besides acting like any other politician, throwing the guilt at his opposition, Obama talked about some solutions to bring down the gas prices. But these solutions as hopeful as they sound need a long time to deliver the sought results.
Basically, by expanding domestic oil and gas exploration, the U.S. will be able to enjoy a bigger internal yield which will reduce the dependency of the imports. His other proposal was investing more in the research and development of new forms of energy. But, then again, that’s not exactly the sort of solution that will bring down the gas prices in the following months.
According to expert projections, by Memorial Day, a gallon would reach $4.25, a considerable boost from today’s average of $3.58 a gallon. Plus, as an Associated Press – GfK poll, more and more people are concerned with the matter, as seven in ten find the issue very important.
