Who is to blame for high gas prices

For the past few weeks it has become an obsession of the right to blame President Obama for increasing gas prices. They will point out that gas prices doubled since his inauguration while ignoring that prices were at a 6 year low due to a worldwide recession. They say the President wanted higher gas prices as part of some great environmentalist agenda then ignore his actually comments that never support this claim.

Back in 2008 when gas hit "record highs" it was Democrats blaming then President Bush for the high prices and Republicans giving the defense. Here are a few examples:

Cal Thomas - 11-22-08 - "The facts are...no President has the power to increase or lower gas prices. Those are market forces."

Neil Cavuto - 5-20-08 - "you got China and India slopping up all of that oil faster than we can these days and that that is the not so sinister response to what’s going on. Nothing to do with the President"

Bill O'Reilly - 4-23-08 - "Most American's are getting hammered by high gas prices. Yesterday oil hit a record high and politicians cannot do a thing about it."

Cheryl Casone - 7-1-08 - "You know at this point it really is tough for this President to be honest with you because he really doesn’t have any control what’s going to happen with the markets and the economy and with oil prices and supply and demand and gasoline it really is out of this President's hands"

Dr Dan Yergin - 7-18-08 - (before Senate Republicans and Democrats as part of a one day energy summit) the reason for high gas prices: speculation, the weak dollar, geopolitics or volatile world events, like Iran's nuclear ambitions, and a "shortage psychology."

Bill O'Reilly with Former VP of New York Mercantile Exchange, John D'Agostino - 4-29-08 - (O'Reilly)"OPEC sets the price for a barrel of oil. And they keep raising it and raising it and raising it. Dick Cheney went over there and tried to say, “Hey, give us a break.” They gave Cheney the middle digit. All right? So they can — they can charge whatever they want to charge, correct?" (D'Agostino)D: "Well, OPEC sets the supply for what they can produce. The price of oil is actually set in exchange at trades in New York and in London, as well."

Marianne Lavalle (US News & World Report) on Greta Van Susteren - 6-18-08 - "the energy economists in the government made and assessment just a few weeks ago and what they came up with was (drilling in Anwar) it would reduce the price of oil about $0.40 a barrel or maybe as much as $1.40 a barrel" (Van Susteren) "So what did that do to my gallon of gas?" (Lavalle) "Did not really change it much at all.”

Bill O'Reilly - 4-21-08 - "The next time you hear a politician say he or she will bring down oil prices understand that it’s complete BS."

Ben Lieberman (Energy Analyst Heritage Foundation) - 5-22-07 - "the biggest factor (in increasing gas prices) is the rise in the price of oil."

The reality is that these statements were accurate then and they are accurate now. Politicians have little to no affect on the price of gasoline. Blaming the President is a political move used by both sides to excite the foot soldiers. Unfortunately it works every time.