President Obama Promotes His Energy Plan While Gas Prices Soar

Susan Phillips

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Susan Phillips tells stories about the consequences of political decisions on people's every day lives. She has worked as a reporter for WHYY since 2004. Susan's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election resulted in a story on the front page of the New York Times. In 2010 she traveled to Haiti to cover the earthquake. That same year she produced an award-winning series on Pennsylvania's natural gas rush called "The Shale Game." She received a 2013 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Award for her work covering natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. She has also won several Edward R. Murrow awards for her work with StateImpact. In 2013/14 she spent a year at MIT as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. She has also been a Metcalf Fellow, an MBL Logan Science Journalism Fellow and reported from Marrakech on the 2016 climate talks as an International Reporting Project Fellow. A graduate of Columbia School of Journalism, she earned her Bachelor's degree in International Relations from George Washington University.

February 23, 2012 | 4:51 PM

Saul Loeb / Getty Images

US President Barack Obama speaks on energy and the economy at the University of Miami in Miami, Florida, on February 23, 2012.

Speaking to a group of students at the University of Miami, President Obama laid out his energy plan as a longterm solution to the nation’s rising gasoline prices. The President says that although high gas prices hurt everyone, the vagaries of the market, including Middle East instability, and the rising demand for cars in China and India, are factors out of his control.
The President said the Republicans would cynically exploit the high gas prices to their advantage in the upcoming election.

“And you can bet that since it’s an election year, they’re already dusting off their three-point plans for $2 gas. I’ll save you the suspense: Step one is drill, step two is drill, and step three is keep drilling. We heard the same thing in 2007, when I was running for President. We hear the same thing every year. We’ve heard the same thing for thirty years.”

But Obama said the country “can’t just drill our way to lower gas prices.” He emphasized the Administration’s focus on developing renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, as well as the new fuel efficiency standards for cars and small trucks. He also spoke about ending tax subsidies for oil and gas companies.

“It’s outrageous. It’s inexcusable. And every politician who’s been fighting to keep these subsidies in place should explain to the American people why the oil industry needs more of their money. Especially at a time like this.”