Charlie Rose and Bob Schieffer were President Obama's Amen corner on
the issue of gas prices on Tuesday's CBS This Morning. Rose shamelessly
claimed, "The President has a point...There's little that he can do...in the short term to affect gas prices, and gas prices hurts his political chances." Schieffer replied, "That's right on all counts...the problem is...people think there are things he can do about it."
The morning newscast, as well as Monday's CBS Evening News, mentioned how "President Obama's approval rating [1] is now at an all-time low," and as anchor Erica Hill explained, "one of the big reasons? Rising gas prices." Both programs, however, omitted mentioning the Democrat's rejection of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline [2], their slowing of drilling permits [3], his energy secretary's endorsement of higher gas prices (which he walked back later on Tuesday [4]), or his party's backing of cap and trade [5].
Rose brought on Schieffer during a segment 14 minutes into the 7 am Eastern hour, and after playing a soundbite of the President claiming that "we don't have a silver bullet when it comes to gas prices," gave his "the President has a point" statement. In addition to agreeing with his colleague, the CBS veteran continued by spouting the left's own talking points on the issue and ignoring the President's own role in the matter, all the while acknowledging the sticker shock from millions of Americans:
SCHIEFFER: I mean, the
fact of the matter is, the reason gas prices are so high is because you
have, you know, the turmoil that's going on in the Middle East; you
have oil speculators; and you have China, which continues to buy more
and more oil; and those are the things that are really keeping gas
prices up. But people go to...that gas pump and they look at
that gauge. I went myself the other day, Charlie, and bought my first
$75 tank of gas, (Rose laughs) and I wasn't buying premium gas....
ROSE (laughs): Exactly- what kind of car are you driving?
SCHIEFFER: And there are a lot of folks around here that- I mean, I'm
getting along fine; I'm not, you know, right now- but $75 for a tank of
gas, and it stares you in the face, and it really makes you mad.
ROSE: And many Americans need their car to drive to work, and so, therefore, it hurts them in a very deep way.
Hill then asked Schieffer, "We know Newt Gingrich has been out there saying, look, I'm going to get gas down to the $2.50 mark....the White House...coming out and really hammering on that point. Are they getting nervous about where this narrative is going in the country?" He answered, in part, with the oft-used line that "people are frustrated with both sides. They don't see anybody riding to the rescue yet...even though the economy is looking better; even though the market is up; even though, you know, unemployment is coming down- going to that pump and looking at that $75 tank of gas...people are really nervous and they're really frustrated now."
The previous evening, CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley and correspondent Anthony Mason also did a segment on the President's low approval numbers 45 minutes into the 6 pm Eastern hour, and acknowledged that the chief executive could do something about the high gas prices, but only gave one example, and still gave cover for him:
MASON: Scott, in our poll we asked, 'Are gas prices something a
president can do a lot about?' More than half said yes. Historically,
that's been the case during the George W. Bush presidency, too. A
majority regularly told us a president can do a lot to affect gas
prices. So rightly or wrongly, Scott, this is being laid at Mr. Obama's
doorstep.
PELLEY: But is there much that a president can do about the price of gasoline?
MASON: One thing a president can do is tap into the strategic petroleum reserves,
Scott, our emergency oil supply. It's only supposed to be used in the
event of severe supply disruptions, but President Obama did tap into it
last June, and gas prices fell about three cents a gallon over the next
two weeks. But they'd already been on their way down for a month, so it's difficult to tell, Scott, what impact that move actually had.
PELLEY: You were telling us last week about the role that Wall Street plays- people investing in oil futures.
MASON: It's a big one and it's growing, Scott. The amount of
money being bet on oil prices going higher has hit record levels in
recent weeks. By several estimates, it's added about $20 a barrel to the
price of oil, or 50 cents to every gallon of gas at the pump. And
there's not much, Scott, that the President can do about that.
The full transcript of the Bob Schieffer segment from Tuesday's CBS This Morning, which began 14 minutes into the 7 am Eastern hour:
ERICA HILL: The latest CBS News/New York Times poll shows President
Obama's approval rating is now at an all-time low- down nine points
since just last month. And one of the big reasons? Rising gas prices.
The President talked about that issue yesterday.
[CBS News Graphic: "CBS News/New York Times Poll: President Obama's
Overall Job Rating: Disapprove, 47%, [up] 4% Since February; Approve,
41%, [down] 9% Since February; Margin of Error: +/- 3% Pts."]
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Understandably, people are frustrated when gas
prices are going up. I think the American people understand that, you
know, we don't have a silver bullet when it comes to gas prices. There's
no silver bullet here.
CHARLIE ROSE: Chief Washington correspondent and host of 'Face The
Nation,' Bob Schieffer is with us this morning. Bob, good morning.
[CBS News Graphic: "Politics Of Gas Prices: High Prices Impact Obama Approval Numbers"]
BOB SCHIEFFER: Hey.
ROSE: The President has a point, doesn't he? There's little that he can
do necessarily to- in the short term to affect gas prices, and gas
prices hurts his political chances.
SCHIEFFER: Well, that's right on all counts, Charlie. You know, but the
problem is- and in this CBS News poll that just came out- people think
there are things he can do about it. I mean, the fact of the matter is,
the reason gas prices are so high is because you have, you know, the
turmoil that's going on in the Middle East; you have oil speculators;
and you have China, which continues to buy more and more oil; and those
are the things that are really keeping gas prices up. But people go to
the- go to that gas pump and they look at that gauge. I went myself the
other day, Charlie, and bought my first $75 tank of gas, (Rose laughs)
and I wasn't buying premium gas. You know, it stunned me so much, I went
home and told my wife, and I said, do you know how much I just paid for
a tank of gas?
[CBS News Graphic: "CBS News/New York Times Poll: Are Gas Prices
Something A President Can Do A Lot About? Yes, 54%; No, 36%; Margin of
Error: +/- 3% Pts."
ROSE (laughs): Exactly- what kind of car are you driving?
SCHIEFFER: And there are a lot of folks around here that- I mean, I'm
getting along fine; I'm not, you know, right now- but $75 for a tank of
gas, and it stares you in the face, and it really makes you mad.
ROSE: And many Americans need their car to drive to work, and so, therefore, it hurts them in a very deep way.
SCHIEFFER: Yeah.
HILL: Mine was 60 bucks the other day. It was very upsetting. It seems,
though, that the Republicans have really been able to make this quite a
campaign issue. We know Newt Gingrich has been out there saying, look,
I'm going to get gas down to the $2.50 mark. President Obama- or the
White House, I should say- coming out and really hammering on that
point. Are they getting nervous about where this narrative is going in
the country?
SCHIEFFER: Well, I think they ought to- I mean- because it has upset-
people are really frustrated. I mean, you know, think about this-and
going back to this poll: when you see now that the President's approval
rating is down to 41%- it was at 50%- and then, you look over at the
Republican race that's going on, and our poll shows that half the
Republican voters still say it's too early to decide who they're going
to vote for- what occurs to me, Erica, is what if we had an election and
nobody won? (laughs) I mean, people are frustrated with both sides.
They don't see anybody riding to the rescue yet. Republicans are split
over who they want, and you continue to have this frustration on the
other side with the White House because even though the economy is
looking better; even though the market is up; even though, you know,
unemployment is coming down- going to that pump and looking at that $75
tank of gas, it's- people are really nervous and they're really
frustrated now.
[CBS News Graphic: "Southern Swing: GOP Candidates Vie For Votes Today"]
ROSE: Bob, thank you so much.
SCHIEFFER: You bet.