"WHAT CAN PRES DO ABOUT HIGH GAS PRICES?"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110427/ts_yblog_thelookout/what-can-obama-do-to-bring-down-gas-prices

"President Obama is coming under increasing pressure to do something—anything—about gas prices, which this week have surged to an average of $3.86 per gallon, thanks to ongoing turmoil in the Middle East and rising demand around the world. In some states, they're more than $4 a gallon.


The president, who faces re-election next year, has gone out of his way to show that he feels Americans' pain at the pump. "This is obviously something that is affecting everybody," he said in a recent interview. "And we are looking at every option that is out there in terms of dealing with it." Economists fear that the high prices are putting a damper on the recovery, by making Americans reluctant to spend money.

But what, if anything, can he actually do to fix the problem? Obama has acknowledged there's no "silver bullet" that can reduce the price of gas. But he has recently detailed several potential moves that could have an impact—even though none of them is likely to produce results as quickly as many Americans would like

Here's a rundown of what Obama might do to start bringing gas prices back to earth:

• Invest more in renewable energy sources. In a radio address Saturday, Obama called this effort "the key to helping families at the pump and reducing our dependence on foreign oil."
*This will take 10 years and in most cases cost more than existing technology, most will not stand on own without subsidies...does nothing to help right now.

• End the $4 billion in subsidies for oil companies. "Instead of subsidizing yesterday's energy sources, we need to invest in tomorrow's,"Obama has said.
THIS IS SO SMALL NOT WORTH MENTIONING, does nothing

• Root out fraud and manipulation in the oil markets. Obama has said he'll have a Justice Department task force probe whether oil market traders and speculators are "taking advantage of the American people for their own short-term gain."  SURE GO AHEAD...this is for show, no go, will do nothing

•  Boost domestic oil production. "We don't want a repeat of the oil spill that we had in the Gulf last year," Obama said in an interview Tuesday. "But we've got to continue to make sure that U.S. production is strong." That might mean expanding drilling off the coast of Florida, or in Alaska.

Could help somewhat, but not significiantly
• Press oil-producing allies like Saudi Arabia to do their part. We need to "let them know," Obama said, "that it's not going to be good for the if our economy is hobbled because of high oil prices."
We surely have all the cards dont we?

• Work with automakers to increase fuel economy standards for cars and trucks."

OMG...what is this? not worth replying to

WHAT ISN'T MENTIONED? FED POLICY which drives down US $ value which makes everything cost more......what can the PRES DO??? YES WHAT CAN HE DO if acknowledgement of the ROOT CAUSE ZIRP and QE and so forth are not even mentioned..?

D