Gas prices – voters' No. 1 concern
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/POLITICS/08/07/preston.energy/art.cash.credit.gi.jpg caption="Voters are focused on the continuing pain at the pump."]
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The high price of gasoline is voters' top economic concern, according to a poll released Friday.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll found that 35% said price of gasoline was their highest concern. That was followed by availability of good jobs (28%), high taxes (18%) and mortgages or home values (18%).
The poll was taken on Sept. 5-7 and surveyed 1,022 adults. It has a margin of error of three percentage points.
While energy concerns led the list, the percentage of respondents who said that high gas prices were causing them "financial hardship" fell to 63% from 75% in July.
Indeed, gas was selling at $3.67 on Friday – more than 80 cents higher than it was a year ago – but 40 cents below its high point in July.
Commodity investors have been worried that the high price of gasoline and other petroleum-derived fuels have been cutting into demand.
Volatile gas prices ticked upward Friday as Hurricane Ike threatened the north Texas coast
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It is NOT the "threat of drilling" that brought the price of oil down, it the fact that the price of gas is crippling the American economy, and people SIMPLY CAN'T AFFORD to consume more. The oil/gas market has found it's breaking point for consumption, and is now receeding due to lack of demand because people aren't driving as much, not going on vacation, and taking public transportation.
The "Threat of Drilling" is not even close to being a contributing factor in the decline of oil prices. We need to continue to conserve, and build an alternative fuel infrastructure.
Drilling is only putting a band-aid on an amputated limb...oil will still run out, and then what?
Please don't believe the litany of GOP lies...try for once in your life to make an informed decision!!
Don't be fooled. It is about house prices too!
Im am so disillusioned with America right now. Lies get votes, media gets ratings by not calling out lies. NOw that they are calling them out, no one is listening now because they are buying the negative stuff.
We have become intellectually lazy and complacent. And we no loinger care about issues, just personalities and sound bites. And the media plays right along.
I give up on the voters of this country, We have dumbed down so far, I noilonger have any faith in anything that America is right now. I am ashamed that we cant follow issues any more.
We say we want change...then we find any excuse not to follow through on it.
I guess bigotry, small minded-ness and insults while having no plan to fix any of our country's problems is the new politics.
I am done trying to advocate truth and issues on this blog or any other....no one is listening, very very sad we have come to this. I am tired and frustrated from beating my head against a wall of lies and chicanary that sell newspapers.
America is no longer a leader because we are no longer an example to anyone. We are a laughing stock and rightfuly so.
Rome is burning.....
DRILL...BABY...DRILL!
iT'S THE ECONOMY STUPID! DON'T FALL FOR THE SAME OLD GOP GARBAGE!
NO WAY! NO HOW! NO MCCAIN! NO PALIN!
I find it amusing and concerning that the three most expensive places for gas in the US are California, Chicago Illinois and New York, the homes of Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. In my home state of Missouri we are paying $3.21, which is what I filled up at yesterday.
As for the myth about 10 years to to drill for new oil let me just state that I handle business for about 40 contract drillers in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas and they can have a new platform with drill in the ground in about 2 weeks. The problem is not on the drilling side it's on the refining side. That is not really a problem either considering the refineries are already here, they're just not running. It does not take very long to "flip a switch" and get going again. The conspiracy theorists sure are hard at work today.
I agree with NoMcShame's comments. CNN is not reporting fairly and they are unfortunately following in the foot steps of their sister station FOX.
people keep saying mccain will protect our "values" .... humm our "greed value" seems to be what has brought us to these trying times.
The concerns expressed by Americans is exactly why Obama is the best person to elect in November. McLame will do nothing to address the needs of the average citizin in this country. NOT TO MENTION THAT IF YOU FOOLS ELECT MCCAIN WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE LAUGHING STOCKS OF THE PLANET FOR ANOTHER 4 YEARS!
@CNN; why not put a ticker up on Palin first interview with Gibson? lmao
Yor repubs with you drilling. Thats just a gimmick like McSames gas price holiday haha.
If they start drilling now their won't be any relief for the next ten years. McCain knows it too but by that time he wont be here anymore.
So stop that nonsense about offshore drilling and deal with some real issues you dummies.
Don't distract americans on garbage politiks, oh yes you have no real solutions thats why, maybe people can be tricked and then its business as usual.
Obama / Boden – the only und real way out of this mess.
Support the Man thta has a Plan to create new jobs by working toward oil indipendance
In my opinion, just listening to people around me at the grocery store or at ball games, Obama has done nothing to Unite this country. All he has done is divide this country. Obama also is NOT going to be a president that makes good decisions for the people....He will make decisions that his party wants him to make. I'm sick of people acting like he is some great person that is going to change the country by himself and that his been his whole campaign slogan BUT he never told us how he would change it. When McCain said he wanted to change Congress, Obama starts whining that his idea was stolen. I really don't think Obama came up with the notion of change all by himself.
TO: Joe September 12th, 2008 12:50 pm ET
If it were truly the voters #1 concern, G. w BUSH WOULD HAVE ONLY SERVE O-N-E TERM. PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEE
And with Ike threatening the gulf coast of Texas.......stand ready for another "petrol surge"...........in price. Misery loves company and everytime an event of nature present danger........it is another reason to ......well of course.......raise the price of gas........
It's really sad to know that the people who vote for Obama have never seemed to travel by air nor road.
I fly to Europe over 4x's a year. Each tix is around 3k.
I commute round trip 80+miles a day.
I do not want to fatten the wallets of Arabs who will turn around and build nukes and WMD's for 3rd world militia governments and rogues to use against Europe, Iserael, and U.S.A.
FACT: If my gas is coming from America. It fattens MY wallet. America first.
FACT: Obamas plan: Wants to be "cool" with Arab oil leaders, and maybe get a discount.
FACT: Obamas plan is EXACTLY the same as Bush's plan that is already NOT working.
McCain and Obama have the SAME strategy to develop energy via other means but until we get weened off of oil who's strategy makes more sense?
Why is CNN refusing to report anything about the Palin interview that exposed her utter weakness on the issues? Why is there no coverage of Troopergate in which she is going to make the EXACT SAME unconstitutional executive privilege arguments as the Bush Administration in an attempt to thwart Congressional subpoenae? WHY ARE YOU NOT REPORTING ON THE CANDIDATES AND HOW THEY MEASURE UP ON THE ISSUES!?!?!?!?!?!?
Stop pretending he-said-she-said is journalism. Stop pretending that reporting polls and statistics is journalism. Stop pretending that lies are not lies. Stop pretending that reality is 90210.
This is really a pathetic statement on where this country is at. Gas prices are the main concern of voters? What about the fact that we are in two wars, with no coherent plan to get out; what about banks failing, people having their homes foreclosed on? What about health care costs? What about the declining value of the dollar, and jobs being outsourced? What about the rising unemployement rate? What about an administration that has run roughshod over the constitution of this country? What about the debt that we are saddling our kids and grandkids with? All of this and people are concerned mainly about gas prices? Take a bus, buy a hybrid, walk. Open your eyes and loik beyond your own nose, and see that this country is on the way down the tubes, and there is no one to blame but yourself
We are the most short-sighted country with any wealth. In poor countries, it makes sense to worry about food and water. We however, should be able to make some long-term decisions without being trapped in short-term thinking. Our election cycle and our short-sightedness as a people is what makes us relive the same problems for generations.
Sen. Obama has a solution to this problem:
He's says we should immediately give every working family in America a $1,000 energy rebate, and we should pay for it with part of the record profits that the oil companies are making right now.
In the short-term, as we transition to renewable energy, we can and should increase our domestic production of oil and natural gas. Right now, oil companies have access to 68 million acres where they aren’t drilling. So we should start by giving them a choice: use the land you have, or give up your leases to someone who will.
Sen. Obama comprehensive plan that will lower gas has three major steps that will achieve this goal:
1..Getting one million 150 mile-per-gallon plug-in hybrid cars on our roads within six years.
2...Double the amount of our energy that comes from renewable sources by the end of my first term. That means investing in renewables like wind and solar power, and we’ll also invest in the next generation biofuels.
3...Call on businesses, government, and the American people to meet the goal of reducing our demand for electricity 15% by the end of the next decade. This is by far the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to reduce our energy consumption – and it will save us $130 billion on our energy bills.
CNN YOU ARE A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR MORE IN REPORTING THE NEWS OF THIS SUDDEN GAS HIKE! I SAT AND WATCH CNN MOST OF THE DAY YESTERDAY WHILE THE WORLD WAS KNEW OF A GAS HIKE, BUT I HAD NO CLUE! NO YOU TELL ME HOW THE THE HECK IS THAT POSSIBLE? THIS IS AN FINE EXAMPLE OF HOW YOU ARE SO VERY FOCUSED ON THE NONISSUES OF LIPSTICK AND SUCH INSTEAD OF WHAT IS IMPORTANT! WELL HELL I GUESS I WAS JUST AS MISFOCUSED FOR WATCHING CNN. YOU THINK? THEN YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO START THE DAY WITH A REPORT ON GAS PRICES BEING NUMBER ONE CONCERN! KIND OF BACKWARDS. UH?
Rebups may enjoy a few more days in the sunlight with that 1 point lead.
Thenthe polls will swing to Obama and their days are counted.
Obama / Biden
Canada supplies the USA with about 28% of your oil. Canadian's
pay over $5.00. $1.28 Per Ltre. 4.2 Ltres to the American Gal.
Go figure that one out.
to everyone calling for drill baby drill did you flunk economics?
If we increase supply then certainly prices would drop. However OPEC currently views everything as being at equilibrium. So do you really think that they're gonna just say, "gosh darn those yankees have oil now...they outsmarted us!" No. They will cut their supply to maintain the equilibrium. Gas prices don't change. If we double our oil production, then they'll cut theirs.
Equilibrium is like gravity. You can't escape it. Want to cut gas prices? Reduce demand for gas/oil. Supply side economics won't fix this. Demand can. Drive smaller cars, drive less, switch to alternative fuel sources. Then OPEC can cut supply to nill and it won't hurt us because we are no longer at the mercy of oil markets.
> Please read all the comments piled into these CNN bloggs and form
> your own opinion as to the mentality of Obama supporters. Instead of
> any intelligent debate
You are arguing for an intelligent debate when your McCain has yet to put forward one single iota of a proposal that would help ease the economy? You are arguing for an intelligent debate when your McCain is running this campaign on his VP's "personality" with attack ads most of which have been discredited by factcheck.org. You are arguing for an intelligent debate when your McCain has resorted to what the Washington Post (a conservative paper) asked of him "Does the Truth Matter Anymore"? Don't ask for an intelligent debate when your guy hasn't shown one scintilla of intelligence himself.
its the war stupid....