WaPo's Charles Lane: Gas Prices 'Are Not the President’s Fault'

Noel Sheppard
February 23rd, 2012 7:36 PM
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On Thursday, Media Research Center President and publisher of NewsBusters Brent Bozell told Fox News's Neil Cavuto that gas prices will keep climbing and the media will continue downplaying it to help President Obama get reelected.

Proving his point just a few hours later on Fox News's Special Report was Charles Lane, the editorial writer for the Washington Post, who actually said, "Gas prices, I’m sorry folks, are not the President’s fault, and he is right about that" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

CHARLES LANE: Well it’s never good to be an incumbent politician of any kind while gas prices are going up because you get blamed for just being there when it happens. There is even some empirical evidence that it could cost you a state or two if you’re running for president while gas prices are going up. But don’t worry because I bet you by November gas prices will actually be on their way down. This kind of a spike occurs almost every year at this time.

BRET BAIER, HOST: Unless Israel attacks Iran.

LANE: Well, sure, but that won’t be Obama’s fault, and everybody will understand that that will be a situation. Gas prices tend to go up in the spring and then, you know, the market works and they’re back down by the fall. We’ve been through this year in and year out. Gas prices, I’m sorry folks, are not the President’s fault, and he is right about that. Unfortunately because it is a political issue, he’s got to come out and give this kind of unconvincing speech that he did today.

Can you imagine an editorial writer for the Post saying gas prices are not the President's fault in an election year if the White House resident were a Republican?

As Bozell told Cavuto a few hours earlier, “The prices are going to continue to escalate and the media are gonna continue to downplay it. This is the kind of story they don't want to cover. It goes against the narrative of the 2012 election and they're gonna do everything they can to get this guy elected. Period." 

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