Surprise. Surprise.

Turmoil in the middle east and gas prices spike. Who could have seen that coming? But there is good news in there somewhere, at least the President gets his wish. And of course there are the side benefits he didn't mention. As the price of goods we purchase rises right along with the price of gas it will put an even greater squeeze on the tattered remains of the middle class.

They must be doing cartwheels in the White House.

They are going to do them right into the middle of the mob called the general public which are going to be so pissed off that if this comes to pass I am going to guarantee that Obama will be a one term president.

At this point in time I can't afford to pay for the gas I use, and I have a full time job and my wife has a part time job that makes 1/2 of what I do... and I make what people would be considered working poor rates.

People in my situation would revolt... or at least get together and put real pressure on the government to get their act together, or be ready for spring cleaning.

In hondo-world. The president wants $5 gas right before an election.

If you are interested in seeing changes in the price of gas over the long term, including the price when adjusted for inflation, this site and its graph might interest you.

http://inflationdata.com/inflation/inflation_rate/gasoline_inflation.asp

Curiously, the graph seems to indicate that when you adjust for inflation, gas prices in 2011 were about the same as they were in 1918 (between $3.50 and $4.00 per gallon).

And I want a $5 an hour raise then... because there is no way in hell a tank if 14 gallons of gas should cost more than 3 hours of work on minimum wage.

Gas now costs more than that... I remember less than a decade ago gas cost me 2 hours of work, three after taxes. I was also driving a truck, and I was making what I am now.

It would now cost me nearly 1/2 a days work to fill my gas tank up if I had the same truck.

It costs me nearly $40 to fill my tank up with a 14 gallon tank...

I fill up once a week... give me $5.00 gas and I'm going to start running for office because it will be the only way I'll be able to afford gas by then.

And you remember what happened during that time too? WWI ring any bells? Bad example...

No he doesn't, he'd rather it come immediately after the election. But there are things even The One cannot control. Besides, it's all been a calculated risk from the get go.

So you're making the mistake of only looking at the situation on the surface and the immediate blowback he'll receive from the public. It's already been carefully calculated that he can withstand that blowback by taking a number of steps. First, blame it all on the Republicans and their hardline stance against compromise. Lies obviously, but the media will grab that line and run with it all the way to the goal line. There's nothing the President can do the media won't justify in some twisted form of logic.

And he'll make a few taxpayer funded trips to Alaska and then some refineries in Texas. There, he'll state emphatically some gibberish about being pro oil and pronounce he's spending every waking moment pushing for more production. A short time later he'll make some grandiose proclamation of a new bit of legislation that will get the wells pumping again. And without a doubt it will be legislation neither the R's or D's could ever support so he knows there is zero chance of it ever passing. Just the predictable three card monte.

And, of course, it's all designed to capture that thin slice of voters in Ohio and Florida that are prone to believe almost anything The Great Babbler spews, but still hanging on the fence this election year.

OK. Suppose we accept, for the sake of argument, that the Obama administration wants $5/gal gas after the election. Why? How do they stand to benefit from it?

I'd love to know how you got this information. You have a source inside the white house hondo? Got a man on the inside? Can you read minds?

When prices were 4-5 bucks under Bush, was that just his evil plan as well? Or was that the big bad democrats too?

Because every president wants his administration to fail. Duh. He also wants to lose this election and the 2014 mid terms. Badly. Duh.

You could have the refineries produce more gas. But whatever fits the narrative I guess.

I believe the Administration's stated goal is parity with European gas prices.

So around $8 a gallon is their target.

FDR was a real dullard and his sheer economic incompetence caused incredible suffering but even *he* understood the need to make energy more plentiful and less costly.

Driving up the cost and reducing the availability of energy during a Depression is economic suicide and a surefire technique to end the middle class.

So let me get this straight. In pursuit of price parity with Western Europe, Obama has decided to increase tensions in the middle east by provoking Iran, risking war in the process? War for price parity with our Atlantic Allies?

You're going to have to explain that one to me again. I'm still not seeing the benefit to the administration, either in the short or the long term.

I wouldn't go so far as to say the Administration's preferred gas prices have much to do with the way the economics of oil unfolds.

That said, there has been a considerable amount of obstruction of domestic production, exploration and refinement.

Furthermore, the anti-business environment and strong preference for crony-corporatism over the interests of the populace have placed Americans at a distinct economic disadvantage when competing for energy resources with the Developing World.

Essentially America is looking more and more like a 3rd World Country while the Developing World is looking more like America used to be. Lots of contributing factors at work here.

Maybe if Obama could get oil to $200/barrel, Solyndra might actually be competitive.

Nah, probably not even then.

Even with all the driving I do (about 15,000 miles per year), going from $3/gallon to $5/gallon will only increase my cost by about $1000/yr (my car gets 30+mpg).

Sure I'd rather spend a grand on something other than contributing to a Saudi prince's white sex slave fund (Taken was a documentary, right?).... but, on the positive side, $5 gas will get some of the idiots off the road.