President Obama mocked his GOP opponents over rising gas prices in a speech Thursday, calling Republican proposals to lower gas prices through "silver bullet" three-point plans typical campaign bluster.
The president drew laughs from a friendly crowd in Largo, Md. when he said that they could expect campaign photo ops of his GOP rivals talking to the press in front of gas stations.
"Every time pricesstart to go up, especially in an election year, politicians dust off their three-point plans for $2 gas," Obama said. "They head down to the gas station. They make sure a few cameras are following them. And then they start acting like we have a magic wand and we will give you cheap gas forever if you just elect us. Every time. Been the same script for 30 years. It's like a bad rerun."
It appears Obama was drawing from his own campaign experience. On April 25, 2008, Obama spoke in front of an Indiana gas station, blaming "Washington" for high gas prices.
He then outlined his four-point plan to lower gas prices by "taking on oil companies." He said he could lower fuel prices by increasing fuel efficiency standards; ending oil subsidies; imposing a windfall-profit tax, in which profits resulting from surging gas prices would be taxed at a higher rate; and extending a gas-tax holiday through the summer.
"In the end, we'll only ease the burden of gas prices on our families when Hoosiers and people all across America say 'enough,"' Obama said. "It's time to free ourselves from the tyranny of oil and stop funding both sides in the war on terror."
Obama’s speech at the gas station was intended as a pivot issue, as his campaign dealt with the fallout of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright scandal.