The four remaining Republican presidential candidates locked horns in the final debate before next week’s contests in Michigan and Arizona and the Super Tuesday races to follow. Former USA TODAY White House Correspondent Richard Benedetto says many Americans got their first good look at Rick Santorum. Benedetto says Santorum did pretty well in the spotlight but didn’t have the lights out performance he may have needed. He explains how Santorum has a tough time separating himself from the Bush administration. Benedetto also assesses new polling numbers showing Romney leading Obama and Santorum within one point. He says despite the competitive numbers, the best news in the poll belongs to Obama. Benedetto explains how Obama could be hampered by high gas prices and why the recent fight over contraception and religious liberty may have been the intent of the Obama White House. And he offers some very tentative predictions on next week’s Republican primaries.
Archives for February 23, 2012
‘A Failed Energy Policy’
On Thursday, the average price of regular unleaded gasoline jumped to $3.61 per gallon and most expect it to go much higher. That’s about double the price when President Obama took office. Traditional explanations for the spike range from Middle East turmoil to increased worldwide demand to price-fixing by OPEC. Louisiana Rep. John Fleming sees international demand as one issue but he says a failed Obama energy policy should be blamed most. Fleming says Obama’s efforts to restrict exploration are exactly what America does not need. Fleming also addresses multiple Democratic contentions on energy. He says the notion that we have a miniscule percentage of the world’s energy reserves is simply wrong. He also rejects the Democratic contention that starting offshore projects now wouldn’t impact gas prices for a decade or more. And he explains what House Republicans are doing to ease energy costs.
Three Martini Lunch 2/23/12
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are encouraged by a new poll showing 50% of Americans think the Obama administration is a failure. They also cringe as gas prices skyrocket. And they comment on General Electric forcing thousands of employees to buy Chevy Volts.