As Ron Futrell writes at Big Journalism, “Pain At The Pump, Where’s The Media?”
The media has finally figured out that gas prices are going up, but most stories in 2010 that deal with Pain At The Pump ignore Obama like they don’t even know he’s president. Mr. Teflon can’t be touched by this messy little inflation thing going on right now (of course, it’s not just gas prices either.)
When Obama entered the White House gas prices averaged $1.81 per gallon. Evil Bush/Oil must’ve done something to make those prices fall – but there’s no time in the 10 hours a day that local TV stations do in their newscasts to mention this little fact. They’re out of space in the New York Times to provide context for this story.
Of course, Obama’s reaction has been to close off-shore drilling and restrict more US land to drilling. The Bush actions of allowing more drilling and increasing US independence led to those low prices of 2008. Yes, policies in the White House can make a difference and are making a difference today to the rising prices.
Gas prices have nearly doubled under Barack Obama, meanwhile the media watches from the sidelines and complains without pointing out where this problem lies. Do you think they don’t know, or do you think they are protecting Dear Leader?
Just for the record, in June 2008 Obama said that he had no problem with higher gas prices, just that they had to rise with a “gradual adjustment.”
Welcome to Obama’s America and the gradual adjustment of gas prices. Things seem to be right on schedule for this president and the activist old media acts sits there and wonders why all of this is happening. Poor Obama having to have to deal with this, I’m sure he’s working hard to help the average American family. I heard him say so in his last speech.
Fill ‘er up!
Why would the media complain? the Washington Post, the New York Times and Tom Brokaw of NBC each asked the Office of the President Elect in December of 2008, in a coincidence of events that would make the JournoList members proud, to raise gasoline taxes to soak the average commuter while the economy was at its lowest ebb.
And in a related development, legendary geological engineer Robert Redford at the Huffington Post yesterday to cold and poor: Drop Dead:
The truth is we don’t need this coal. The developers claim they have a contract with a Utah utility, but they won’t disclose which one. It’s questionable whether local utilities even have the need for such sizeable quantities of coal. Instead, rumors indicate that a lot of the coal will be hauled to a West Coast port for shipping, possibly overseas. If the company is so confident there is a market for its product, it should name its buyers.
The West has a long history of outside companies extracting local resources, selling them elsewhere, and leaving nearby communities to clean up the mess often at taxpayer expense. No matter what they might tell you, there is no reclamation plan that can return on open pit mine to a natural, wild state. Once that untamed spirit is gone, it’s gone for good
Some places are simply too special to industrialize. Bryce country is one of them.
I’d love to hear where Redford would be OK with digging a coal mine — perhaps he could run the location past President Obama and Harry Reid.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member