A Little Angry About the Whole Thing

For some Americans, analysts speculate, gas prices provide a shorthand reading of the general state of the economy. Even though prices at the pump are largely outside the president's control, he gets credit when they fall — and blame when they rise.-USA Today Article

I have serious problems with these two sentences for a variety of reasons... Not necessarily because they were written, but rather, because they could be true. The idea that most Americans look to prices at the pump to indicate how well the economy is doing, both appalls and frightens me. It's an easy way for people to feel like they know what the hell's going on, but really can't be bothered to think about anything other than how much is coming out of their wallet and going into their Expedition three times a week. People can only seem to talk about two things of late, the weather (including Global Warming), and gas prices. Both of which are in trouble-- and both for almost the same reasons.
The second sentence about Bush's approval ratings mirroring the prices of gasoline makes me want to slap the closest stupid person next to me. Bush may not have a little button that he pushes to make gas prices go up or down, but his bed fellows, ie. the oil companies, sure do... Don't tell me the reason behind the recent falling of oil prices now has nothing to do with the upcoming election...I might have to slap you too.
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