Unfair Criticism

Gas prices seen above $2.10 through 2006

This is completely (OK, only somewhat, actually) unfair criticism of the Bush administration. But here it is:

When I lived in the Quad Cities in the summer of 2000--the last sunny gasp of the Clinton era--I worked across the river in Iowa and frequently bought gas there. I once paid less than 90 cents a gallon that summer. 90 cents! This morning, on the way to work, the Mobil down the street from me (where I always end up buying gas despite the fact that they're the only Fortune 50 company without fair policies for their gay and lesbian workers--some activist I am) was charging $2.58 a gallon.

At roughly five percent inflation--and that's generous for the last five years--my 90 cent gas would cost $1.14 today. Even taking into consideration the difference between eastern Iowa and suburban Chicagoland, $2.58 a gallon represents the price of gas more than doubling, in real terms, during Bush's presidency.

Is it any surprise that Clinton's approval ratings that summer were in the high 50s, while Bush's this summer are in the low 40s?