WASHINGTON – President
Barack Obama is confronting Americans' anxiety over rising gasoline
prices by drawing attention to his energy policies and taking credit for
rising oil and gas production, a greater mix of energy sources and
decreased consumption.
Obama is heading to Florida on Thursday to
promote an energy strategy that the administration says will reduce
dependence on foreign oil in the long term. But Obama's pitch will also
have a subtext: that the federal government can do little to halt the
current rise in gasoline prices.
Obama will
speak at the University of Miami and tour the school's Industrial
Assessment Center, which trains students as industrial energy-efficiency
experts. The program is one of 24 across the country.
White House advisers believe Obama needs to
address the recent spike in gasoline prices, even though they see it as a
cyclical occurrence. The current $3.58 per gallon is the highest price
at the pump ever for this time of year.
Obama aides worry that the rise in prices
could reverse the country's economic gains and the president's improved
political standing. A new Associated Press-GfK poll shows that though
Obama's approval rating on the economy has climbed, 58 percent
disapprove of what he's doing on gas prices.
Republicans have seized on the issue, citing
Obama's decision to reject a permit for a cross-country oil pipeline as
evidence of a misguided policy. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum
has warned of $5-a-gallon gas, while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
has said he could lower prices to $2.50 a gallon.
White House officials
point to increased oil production and decreased consumption as evidence
that Obama's policies are working and will lead to greater energy
independence in the long run. But they assert there is little Obama --
or any president -- can do to change the trajectory of prices now.
Despite more domestic oil and less
consumption, "these prices are going up, and that tells you that there
are other things beyond our control, like unrest in the Middle East or
other factors like the growth of emerging countries such as China and
India," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday.
To be sure, oil and gas production has
increased during the Obama administration, though the trend began during
the presidency of George W. Bush, according to the U.S. Energy
Information Administration. The increase has reversed a decline that
began in 1986, and the agency projects that by 2020 oil production will
reach a level not seen since 1994.
The agency also has reported a drop in
petroleum consumption, caused by the economic downturn after the 2008
recession, new efficiencies and changes in consumer behavior.
While in Florida, Obama also plans to raise
money, including a $30,000-a-person event at the Windermere, Fla., home
of Dallas Mavericks guard Vince Carter. An avid basketball fan, Obama
will attend a dinner Thursday at Carter's house just three days before
the NBA All-Star Game in nearby Orlando.
Obama also will attend fundraising events at
the Biltmore Hotel and at the Coral Gables home of lawyer Chris Korge, a
top fundraiser for Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.
Last week, Obama took a three-day West Coast trip and raised about $8 million in eight campaign events.
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