Democrats then and now over high gas prices

Now the Democrats claim that nothing can be done to control prices. Back six years ago, Democrats didn't have the same view:

Democrats running for Congress are moving quickly to use the most recent surge in oil and gasoline prices to bash Republicans over energy policy, and more broadly, the direction of the country.

With oil prices hitting a high this week and prices at the pump topping $3 a gallon in many places, Amy Klobuchar, a Democratic Senate candidate in Minnesota, is making the issue the centerpiece of her campaign. Ms. Klobuchar says it "is one of the first things people bring up" at her campaign stops.

To varying degrees, Democrats around the country are following a similar script that touches on economic anxiety and populist resentment against oil companies.

"It's a metaphor for an economy that keeps biting people despite overall good numbers," said Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Mr. Schumer said Democratic candidates in 10 of the 34 Senate races this year had scheduled campaign events this week focusing on gasoline prices. . . .

Democrats are tailoring campaign messages to pierce any economic good news by focusing on other aspects of the energy law . . . .

Democrats are eagerly laying blame for the situation on the Republicans . . . .

Of course, if you increase gas supplies 10 years from now, that will lower prices today. Obama is simply wrong when he claims:

“there are no quick fixes to this problem, and you know we can’t just drill our way to lower gas prices.” . . .

Obama's solution is this:

A pre-summer spike in gasoline prices has ignited an election-year furor, with President Obama mocking presumed Republican "three-point plans for $2 gas," all of which involve drilling, and Republicans claiming that Obama's energy strategy relies on algae, pond scum and chicken manure, not to mention bankrupt Fremont solar manufacturer Solyndra. . . .

Like his predecessor, George W. Bush, who lamented in 2008 that he had no "magic wand" to reduce gas prices, Obama said he had "no silver bullet" and embraced an "all-of-the-above" energy strategy, which includes "public investments" in green energy companies, "even though some companies will fail," a tacit acknowledgement of the Solyndra bankruptcy and other green energy companies that received billions of dollars in taxpayer funds.

Obama also touted algae as a fuel source, prompting ridicule from the Republican National Committee, which recycled Obama campaign quotes from 2008 about pond scum and chicken manure. . . .

During April of the 2008 presidential campaign, Obama opposed tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

McCain advocates suspending U.S. purchases for it. Obama supports suspending purchases for the reserve and advocates tapping it only if there's a short-term disruption in the oil supply. . . .

His administration seems to have a different position:

On Friday, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner suggested the SPR is a possibility. "There's a case for the use of the (reserves) in some circumstances, and we'll continue to look at that and evaluate that carefully," he told CNBC Friday morning. . . .

UPDATE: These guys don't understand economics. Again, the Obama spokesman is wrong about how long it takes for policies to impact the price of gas at the pump. In addition, if these "efficiency" savings made a difference, they would lower the price of gas today.