New York Times energy reporter John Broder, who is notoriously receptive to climate change hysteria and dismissive of skeptical arguments, played defense for President Obama in Tuesdays "Obama Energy Policies Differ From Romneys Portrayal.
" The online headline is harsher: "Romney Misleads on Obama and Energy Prices.
Note: The link goes to an online version of the story that is significantly altered from the story that appeared in print Tuesday morning, from which this text comes:In a television interview on Sunday and a Web video released on Monday, Mitt Romney said that President Obama has sought higher gasoline and energy prices and called on the president to dismiss three cabinet officers Mr Romney claims have abetted him.
Mitt Romney has yet to nail down the Republican presidential nomination, but he’s already well into his critique of President Obama.
But the assertion is largely unsubstantiated or misleading, as are other statements Mr Romney has made in recent days about Obama administration policies.
On Fox News on Sunday, Mr Romney said of Mr Obama, “Well, there’s no question that when he ran for office, he said he wanted to see gasoline prices go up.
”The Romney campaign did not provide any documentation for the charge, but it appears to have arisen from a June 2008 interview then Senator Obama did with CNBC, when gasoline prices of about $4 a gallon were a huge political issue, as they are now.
In that interview, Mr Obama said prices had risen too quickly, putting strain on the finances of many families.
But if we take some steps right now to help people make the adjustment, first of all by putting more money into their pockets, but also by encouraging the market to adapt to these new circumstances more quickly, particularly US automakers, then we think ultimately, we can come out of this stronger and have a more efficient energy policy than we do right now.
”But theres nothing there or in the next citation that refutes the idea Obama wanted prices to go higher, merely that he "would have preferred a gradual adjustment.
"Mr Romney also cited a comment from a 2008 interview in which Mr Obama said that under a strict cap and trade program to address climate change, energy prices would “necessarily skyrocket.
” After becoming president, Mr Obama endorsed a House Democratic climate change bill that contained numerous provisions to limit the costs to consumers.
But the MRCs Brent Baker found a more to the point clip from 2007 that Broder passed over, in which candidate Obama predicted "we think it is important for us to send some price signals, to change behavior" and that “its not going to be painless.
A lot of us who can afford are going to have to pay more per unit of electricity” to cover the higher cost of “green” energy production.
Broder reluctantly admitted that Obamas energy secretary did want gas prices to rise to European levels, but still gave him cover:Steven Chu, the energy secretary, did say in 2008 – before he was nominated to the cabinet – that gasoline prices in the United States should rise to the levels of Europe (about $8 a gallon) to encourage conservation and alternative transport.
Claire Cain is a business journalist based in Brisbane, Australia. Claire has a passion for financial markets and breaking news stories and loves writing about business news, stock market, and economic opinions that matters most to its audience. Claire spends a lot of time discovering and researching latest financial markets and industry news stories in order to make sure the latest and greatest stories are brought to you first on BigBoardNews.com.
