THE DECIDING ISSUE? – AT 9:12 A.M. ET:  We've said here that gas prices at the pump could be the deciding issue in the 2012 campaign.  They severely hurt Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s.  Now the president who is most like Carter is plagued with them.  How bad is it? 

UPI reports that, in Washington, D.C., where the president sometimes visits, gasoline prices charged by at least one station have hit the five-dollar mark.  There is no end in sight.  Planning in millions of families has been completely disrupted.  Consider what is happening in Western and rural areas, where people have to drive many miles a day just to get to work.  And consider the ultimate impact on food prices.  Those huge vans you see parked outside your local supermarket run, of course, on gasoline.

The president is blaming speculators:

(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday blamed speculators for driving gasoline prices higher and straining American consumers, saying there was enough oil in world markets to meet demand.

Speaking at a community college in suburban Virginia, Obama said increasing production of U.S. oil and creating a market for fuel-efficient cars would help meet the country's energy challenges.

Increasing production?  Did he say "increasing production"?  Where have you been, Mr. President?

"I know that if you've got a limited budget and you just watch that hard-earned money going away to oil companies that will once again probably make record profits this quarter, it's pretty frustrating," he said.

Rising fuel prices are a persistent concern for the White House, which is worried about their impact on the economy and on voters' wallets as Obama runs for re-election.

COMMENT:  Of course, the president has a point.  There is plenty of speculation going on, and it should be exposed by a vibrant press.  And yes, there may have to be regulations to rein it in.  Just as the Constitution isn't a suicide pact, neither is the free-enterprise system.  Something is wrong somewhere.

Indeed, Saudi Arabia is actually cutting production, claiming there is probably too much of a supply of petroleum right now.  Whether that's true or not is another story entirely.

What we do know is that we're dependent on foreign oil, and yet we have plenty of untapped petroleum in the United States.  Environmental ideologists have blocked attempts to get at it.  We are certainly in favor of the environment, but there have to be practical decisions made, that take into account the economic needs of the American people.

If gasoline goes to five dollars across the country, the disruptions will be enormous.  So will the political implications...unless the Republicans self-destruct, which is not out of the realm of possibility.

April 20, 2011