Obama on High Gas Prices: Buy a New Car

One broad change we can make that will start us on the road to lower prices at the pump, we could "trade in" Obama for a new president.

As you fill up your tank this week, paying the highest (prices) ever for this time of year, here is a reminder of what our president thinks about your struggle to pay for gas: just buy a new car.

Obama needled one questioner who asked about gas prices, now averaging close to $3.70 a gallon nationwide, and suggested that the gentleman consider getting rid of his gas-guzzling vehicle.

"If you're complaining about the price of gas and you're only getting 8 miles a gallon, you know," Obama said laughingly. "You might want to think about a trade-in."

See, it is your fault, not his.

Obama, who has done nothing to help fuel prices, openly mocked this gentleman who had the nerve to complain about the pain at the pumps.

Already, W. Howard Coudle, a retired machinist from Crestwood, Mo., has seen his monthly gasoline bill rise to $80 from about $60 in December. The closest service station is selling regular for $3.39 per gallon, the highest he's ever seen.

Mr Coudle, just buy a new car.

I am not sure which is worse: Obama insulting someone who raised a legitimate concern; his condescending ignorance that not every one can just trade their car in; or his clueless notion that anyone who gets over "8 miles a gallon" should not care about high gas prices.

Americans spent 8.4 percent of their household income on gasoline last year when gas averaged an all-time high of $3.51 a gallon. That's double the percentage a decade ago. They could pay even more this year, even though demand is the lowest in 11 years as people drive fewer miles in more efficient cars, says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at OPIS.

You see, Obama thinks there is nothing that he can do to stop the astronomical rise in gas prices during his term.

"I'm just going to be honest with you. There's not much we can do next week or two weeks from now," the president told workers at a wind turbine plant.

While that may be true, what has Obama done in the three years since he took office,a time when gas prices have more than doubled. Nothing.

Could it be that Obama could do something, but won't? Let's ask his Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered a measure to open up off-shore areas to new oil and natural gas drilling when the price of gas reached $4.50-per-gallon. Salazar objected. So McConnell changed it to $5-per-gallon. Salazar still objected.

And so on and so on it went until McConnell said $10-per-gallon. Salazar continued to object, at which point it was clear that, as the Democratic spokesman in that particular discussion, the Colorado senator would not allow America to produce more oil and gas even if Americans had to pay more than double what they were paying then for a gallon of gas.

Or, is it that Obama has intentionally driving up the prices of oil in order to drive his green energy initiatives?

There can be no doubt that the president took deliberate action to block access to the nation’s energy resources. A federal judge recently found the Interior Department in contempt for ignoring his order overturning the oil-drilling moratorium the administration imposed following the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. On Feb. 22, Judge Martin Feldman upped the pressure by insisting that the department act on five pending permits within 30 days. Permits that would, under normal circumstances, be processed in two weeks have been ignored for four to nine months. “Not acting at all is not a lawful option,” Judge Feldman wrote. The department had no choice but to issue the first permit since the spill on Feb. 28.

The House Committee on Natural Resources (full disclosure, headed by a Republican) has a breath-taking list of the measures undertaken by the Obama administration that the committee feels have directly resulted in "skyrocketing" energy costs.

"Gas prices? They're going to still fluctuate until we can start making these broader changes, and that's going to take a couple of years to have serious effect," Obama said.

I know one broad change we can make that will start us on the road to lower prices at the pump, we could "trade in" Obama for a new president.