even though i remain convinced that a president can't do all that much about gas prices, blaming the president for high gas costs really is a winning strategy for the republicans, at least in the short term.
the problem for the GOP is the medium-to-long term. gas prices typically rise as the summer approaches and then fall at the end of summer (as demand falls off from summer travel). that means they can in theory get a lot of mileage (sorry) out of the high gas line for several months, it's just that gas prices will probably start to come down right around when we are getting close to the election. to the extent they pin the blame of high gas prices on the president, they risk giving him the credit for any signs of improvement right before the election.
the long and short of this is the republicans need more than gas to get them through the election. we shall see if they manage to come up with anything else that actually resonates with anyone but their own base.
(via memeorandum)
the problem for the GOP is the medium-to-long term. gas prices typically rise as the summer approaches and then fall at the end of summer (as demand falls off from summer travel). that means they can in theory get a lot of mileage (sorry) out of the high gas line for several months, it's just that gas prices will probably start to come down right around when we are getting close to the election. to the extent they pin the blame of high gas prices on the president, they risk giving him the credit for any signs of improvement right before the election.
the long and short of this is the republicans need more than gas to get them through the election. we shall see if they manage to come up with anything else that actually resonates with anyone but their own base.
(via memeorandum)
