Up, Up, And Away...

That would be the price of gasoline these days. I don't know about where you live, but I do know I went away for a week, and came back with the gas prices higher than when I left. We are closing in on $3 a gallon here.

The Washington Examiner had an editorial on this very issue, "Obama's $5 A Gallon Gas Just Ahead." The editorial reminded readers of one of Obama's statements ignored by his supporters, though not by those of us who had our eyes wide open, and our ears, too. And that was this:

Most politicians play word games to cast themselves in the most favorable light, so perhaps it's understandable that few people took it seriously when President Obama unaccountably said during his 2008 presidential campaign that energy prices would "necessarily skyrocket" under his program.

With gas steadily approaching $4 per gallon and projected by federal Energy Information Administration experts to hit $5 in 2012, it's time to accept Obama at his word. The costs of heating and cooling our homes and offices, keeping gas in the cars and trucks that get us to work and the grocery store, and generating the electricity that keeps our laptops humming are heading skyward because Obama thinks that's what is best for us. It's a classic illustration of liberals using government to do to us what we would never do to ourselves. [snip]

Remember that pithy little statement by Obama? It should have cost him a few states, including Pennsylvania, but for reasons beyond me, it didn't. Anyway, this is what Obama said about "Cap And Trade" back in the day:



Again, don't know about where you live, but I can tell you, our electric costs have been on the rise since Obama took office, and I fear it will only get worse.

When prices escalate for products like gas, it necessarily changes how people live, what they can do, and where they drive. We are comfortable financially, but when prices were high not that long ago, it did change where we drove, how often I went to see my horse, Jordan (which is one of the highlights of my week), or up into Charleston, or any number of places. I just spent $38 filling up my tank on Thursday, and I still had between 1/4 - 1/2 of a tank left (I drive a Sienna, which gets decent gas mileage). When gas goes up like this, it means, for some people, the difference between being able to drive to work or not.

So what has Obama done to affect gas prices? This:

[snip] Here are just some of the ways Obama has constricted U.S. energy exploration and development, thereby forcing prices upward and making America more dependent on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and other costly, unreliable foreign oil sources who bear this country ill will:

»?Reimposed bans on oil and natural gas drilling in America's outer continental shelf that were previously reversed by a Democratic-led Congress and a Republican president. Experts estimate there are at least 130 billion barrels of oil and trillions of feet of natural gas to be harvested from these areas, but Obama won't allow it.

»?Even before the cause of the Deepwater Horizon disaster was known, Obama imposed a six-month moratorium on deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico that cost thousands of jobs and effectively ended drilling in both deep and shallow waters there. Although officially lifted, slow-walking federal bureaucrats have yet to approve new permits and are busily issuing costly new requirements that are certain to stifle most, if not all, drilling in the Gulf for years to come. A third of America's oil production comes from wells in the Gulf.

»?Reversed a Bush administration decision that opened millions of acres of public lands in the western parts of the nation to careful oil and natural gas exploration and development, then invented an entirely new classification that puts those and millions more acres not previously covered off limits.

»?Appointed an energy secretary -- Steven Chu -- who said in December 2008 that Americans should pay the same prices as Europeans for gas. Gas in Europe then averaged around $8 per gallon.

Maybe now people will believe that Obama meant exactly what he said in 2008 about making us pay much more for energy. If they don't, they surely will in coming months. (Click HERE to read the rest.)

Maybe. One can only hope, though the blinders and earplugs seem to be in plenty for too many.

So, what are things like where you are? Are gas or other energy prices affecting your daily lives? Feel free to talk about this, or anything else going on (reading the Constitution in the House? Repealing Obamacare? Pelosi claiming that NOW House Democrats will focus on jobs though they did blessed little to address that issue while controlling all three houses? Obama calling the Eagles owner to thank him for giving Michael Vick, the dog torturer, a second chance?).

And TGIF...