President Obama “is not concerned” that he will be blamed for high gas prices, according to his spokesman, notwithstanding Obama’s recent comment that he doesn’t want high gas prices in an election year.
“The president is not concerned about who gets the blame. The president is concerned about making sure that we have the right policies to deal with this challenge for the long-term,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in today’s press briefing.
Two weeks ago, though, Obama did mention the threat that gas prices pose to his presidency. “Just from a political perspective, do you think the President of the United States going into re-election wants gas prices to go up higher?” he said lightheartedly to reporters.
Carney repeated the White House claim that “oil and gas production in the United States has increased significantly both on private and public lands.” The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported last week, though, that production of crude oil on public lands dropped was down last year from 2003 levels and was also down year-over-year.
