Wednesday's NY Daily News had a column by Michael Goodwin that is sure to not bring a comforting thought to any Republican contemplating a run for re-election this fall. Goodwin - whose two favorite targets are Hillary and Dubya - compared the President's most recent "I feel your pain" speech on rising oil prices to Jimmy Carter's "malaise" speech in the seventies.
While it is true that reality is that the President can't really do much to affect oil prices (See Dan Cleary's blog on this subject), the perception is much more important. While the average American doesn't seem to know that the price of gas is affected by a number of factors - OPEC pricing, refining capacity, political stability in regions with large reserves, problems with delivery - they understand one thing: they are paying a whole lot more than they used to. They don't want to hear a president tell them there's nothing he can do about it. They think, "He's the most powerful man on the planet for cryin' out loud."
If I were a Republican candidate for dog-catcher, I'd be trying to put as much daylight between me and the President right about now.
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