Don't Fall for "Gas Was Cheap" When Bush Was Prez

See where it craters? January 2009: Obama's Inauguration. Source: MotherJones.com.

Dishonesty bugs me. I try never to be dishonest, because frankly, lying requires too much remembering. If you tell the truth, you don't need to try very hard to remember things. Plus, you know, being honest is just the right thing to do.

So, it really pisses me off that there are a bunch of Republicans running around talking about how cheap gasoline was when George W. Bush was president. Man, things were sweet in the waning days of 2008, weren't they? The economy was rosy, the world was shiny and new, and then that [black] fellow took over, and everything went all to hell! Of course this is a fiction. The economy was tanking, the financial world was reeling, the stock market was crashing and. . .gas prices cratered.

Yes, it is true--but highly misleading--to say that when President Obama was inaugurated, gasoline was $1.78 per gallon. Misleading, why? Because the price hadn't been holding steady there, it had crashed there. Recently. Prior to that--in the summer of 2008--gas prices were at an all time high, a price that hasn't been topped (or if it has, only barely). So, this is just one more example of missing context and deliberate misdirection on the part of conservatives. I love the smell of desperation in the morning!