I’m guessing there are Obama strategists and Republican presidential hopefuls worried as we speak about rising gas prices. If 2012 dawns with Americans paying $5 a gallon for gas, and the per barrel price passing the $100 mark, oil will be on everyone’s mind. And who is the American politician most identified with aggressive energy production? Sarah Palin.
Unforeseen developments have a way of putting unexpected people in the White House. When the economic crisis hit in September of 2008 McCain and Palin were actually leading Obama-Biden in the polls. Obama handled the issue better than McCain and it had a lot to do with his election.
If the country is reeling with record-high energy prices and rising prices on all commodities that are made with petroleum, which is almost everything, and with Obama’s wrong-headed anti-drilling policies only exacerbating the problem, the issue will become who can get us out of this energy pickle. Huckabee? Romney? Obama? None of them has a track record with energy. None of them has the unblemished history of advocating aggressive domestic energy exploration. The only one who does is Palin.
I’m not trying to predict the future, but if I were an anti-energy politician and I saw this crisis looming, I’d be worried about Palin in my rearview mirror. People are already getting worried. Imagine what they’ll feel like in two years.
Can Obama pivot to become an advocate of domestic energy production without looking like hypocrite? Will his base allow him to rescind his ban on offshore drilling, and will he have the courage to say we need to drill in ANWR for the sake of the U.S. economy and national security? Somehow I doubt it.
