Text 22862, 123 rader
Skriven 2006-09-27 19:43:00 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
Ärende: Poll numbers
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What these folks don't realize is that two major hedge funds bailed out 
of energy over the past few weeks.  One of them almost went broke.  But 
this is Bush's fault.  Next he will make it rain...

What will they do when they realize that employment is at a historical 
average low, interest rates are too, housing prices are coming down 
which makes them more affordable and the DOW is likely to hit a new high 
in the next few weeks.  Watch the GDP forecast get adjusted up for the 
year.  All of this is better than The Clinton's economic record but the 
democrats would have you believing that a financial apocalypse is around 
the corner.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060927/ts_alt_afp/usvotebushenergy_0609271
51903

Falling US gas prices boost Bush poll numbers 

by Stephanie Griffith 
Wed Sep 27, 11:19 AM ET
 


WASHINGTON (AFP) - Some Americans are suspicious that recent steep 
declines in gasoline prices might be the result of political 
manipulation, since the savings at the gas pump come just weeks before 
critical midterm US elections. 

Earlier this year, news of record oil profits led many US consumers to 
believe that energy companies had deliberately kept prices artificially 
high to improve their bottom line.

Now gas prices have fallen for several consecutive weeks, and recent 
polls show that consumers have a new suspicion -- that the price break 
is meant to give a boost to a US president and Republican Congress who 
had fallen out of favor with voters.

A USA Today/Gallup poll last week found that 42 percent of the roughly 
1,000 adults surveyed across the United States believed        President 
George W. Bush's administration had "deliberately manipulated the price 
of gasoline so that it would decrease before this falls elections."

White House spokesman Tony Snow addressed -- and summarily dismissed -- 
the speculation at a press briefing earlier this week.

"I have been amused by ... the attempt by some people to say that the 
president has been rigging gas prices, which would give him the kind of 
magisterial clout unknown to any other human being," he told reporters.

"It also raises the question, if we're dropping gas prices now, why on 
earth did we raise them to 3.50 dollars before?" he said.

Manipulated or not, many observers agree that the falling prices at the 
gas pump have lifted Bush's sagging poll numbers.

"It pumps up presidential popularity," said Larry Sabato, a political 
analyst at the University of Virginia.

And while many experts believe that the recent rebound enjoyed by Bush 
in the polls is a result of a new thrust on security, others say it is 
mostly about the newly discounted gas.

"I see a near-perfect correlation between Bush's rise in the polls and 
the decline in gas prices," Sabato said.

"I think for most people it's a lot more important than the global war 
on terror," he said. "People tank up twice a week. They feel it in their 
pocket book," he said.

It does seem clear US consumers are in a more upbeat mood as gas prices 
continue to decline. House Speaker        Dennis Hastert crowed Tuesday 
after economic data showed consumer confidence rising.

"The economy continues to grow to record levels, and the American people 
are more convinced now as they feel relief at the pump and have more 
money in their pockets," he said.

And while the November 7 midterm elections portend a shakeup of the 
political establishment, American voters historically are less eager for 
political change if they can fill their cars' gas tanks on the cheap.

Hastert said the improving economy gave voters reason to return 
Republican lawmakers to Congress, rather than defecting to opposition 
Democrats, whom many political observers believe are poised to take 
control of the House of Representatives.

"The American people can be assured that House Republicans will continue 
working to keep those prices low and American confidence high," Hastert 
said.

Pundits said that far from being the result of a Republican plot, the 
cheap gas can be explained by end of the summer driving season, a mild 
Atlantic hurricane season, healthy US energy stockpiles and lessening 
tensions over the Iranian nuclear crisis. 

The average retail price of gasoline nationwide is now 2.38 dollars per 
gallon (3.8 liters), the lowest since March 2006. Oil prices, meanwhile, 
have fallen by more than 20 percent since July, when prices topped 78 
dollars a barrel. 

The Automobile Association of America (AAA), said a gallon of gas one 
year ago cost 2.80 dollars, while in early September 2005, average gas 
prices were 3.06 dollars per gallon. 

Bush seems to be a major beneficiary of the lighter public mood -- 
whether or not cheaper gas is the cause. 

In a Los Angeles Times poll last week, his approval rating rose from 41 
percent in late June to 44 percent. 

Conversely, some of Bush's worst poll numbers came in May and June, 
hovering in the low 30s -- at the very time when gas prices were 
peaking. 

Analyst Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service told the USA 
Today newspaper last week that gas prices will drop an additional 10 to 
20 cents a gallon by Election Day -- offering further cheer to Bush and 
fellow Republicans.


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