'Gas prices have doubled on President Obama's watch, and the American people are asking why he and Senate Democrats are blocking more American energy production,' Boehner said in a statement. 'Whether the president joins us or not, we will continue to fight for common-sense solutions that lower gas prices and create new jobs.'Just one problem. Gasoline prices have fallen in the past month by 18 cents a gallon, from a nationwide average of $3.92 to $3.75 a gallon. That compares with $3.96 last year at this time.Republicans believe that the winter surge in energy costs ' the average price of a gallon of gas jumped nearly 70 cents, to about $3.90, from late December to mid-April ' provides them with a political opening to go on the offensive against Obama.
Unlike congressional Republicans, Foxaganda has noticed the falling prices. Here's Fox business host Stuart Varney:
SEAN HANNITY: Let's look at gas price when he took office. I mean, let's go down the list here. Gas prices, average nationally, $1.84 a gallon. Well, now, the average price is $3.80 a gallon. Is that something to tout as success?But then again, maybe he is responsible. Varney recently said the falling prices might be a sign of a weakening economy, which, in FoxSpeak is obviously Obama's fault.STUART VARNEY: No, obviously not. And [Obama] has had nothing to do with bringing the gas price down the last few days. He's had everything to do with pushing the gas price up over the last three years.
And, of course, he's to blame for stopping oil companies from drilling on every half-acre of public land from the Alaskan wilderness to the Florida coral reefs.
As Media Matters points out, last year Varney conceded that "higher gas prices are the result of the expanding global economy and turmoil in the Middle East" and had nothing to do with Obama's drilling policies.
Perhaps, Fox News and the congressional Republicans will huddle to figure out how untangle all these dueling narratives so they can arrive at a single answer as to why Obama is to blame.
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