Obama: No “Silver Bullet” for Gas Prices

Gas prices were the main issue of Saturday dueling radio addresses. And with good reason: They keep climbing. Prices at the pump increased for the 18th day in a row Saturday, reports CNN, reaching an average of $3.67 a gallon, almost a 30-cent increase from a month ago. People continue to be worried as oil finished “its longest rally since January 2010” due to concerns over Iran’s supply, reports Bloomberg.

President Obama dismissed those who claim to have an easy answer to the problem, calling their proposals nothing more than election-year gimmicks. “We know there's no silver bullet that will bring down gas prices or reduce our dependence on foreign oil overnight,” Obama said. He added that he would push for an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy “that develops every available source of American energy—oil, gas, wind, solar, nuclear, biofuels, and more,” reports the Hill.

Obama mocked the repeated Republican focus on plans to deal with oil prices. “I’ll save you the suspense: Step one is drill, step two is drill, and step three is keep drilling,” he said. “You know that’s not a plan—especially since we’re already drilling. It’s a bumper sticker.”

As he predicted, the Republicans answered back, criticizing the administration’s policies for rising energy costs, reports the New York Daily News.

“President Obama’s policy has resulted in an unprecedented slowdown in new exploration and production of oil and gas,” said Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who delivered the GOP response to the president's radio address.

One of the Republicans who is hoping to gain the most from focusing his ire on rising oil prices is Newt Gingrich. In an interview with Politico, the former House speaker said that rising gas prices really have the potential to damage Obama’s reelection chances.