Record high Labor Day gas prices face Democrats at Charlotte convention.
Gas prices soared 10% in August
Politico reported:
Democrats arrived in Charlotte on Monday to an ill-timed reminder of one of the issues plaguing President Barack Obama’s reelection bid: high gasoline prices.
Prices at the pump reached a national average of $3.83 Monday, according to AAA, setting a record high for a Labor Day. The previous Labor Day record of $3.69 was set in 2008, at the height of the last presidential election fight.
Gas prices have increased by 23 cents in the past month during the height of the summer driving season. But AAA predicts that Obama, who has faced sustained attacks from Republicans over gas prices, will get a respite in the coming weeks once refineries that shut down as a result of Hurricane Isaac reopen.
But high prices will probably linger. “While prices should drop in September barring any major developments, we expect gasoline to remain at or near record highs through the end of 2012,” AAA spokesman Avery Ash said in a statement.
Republicans have pummeled Obama over gas prices, hoping to appeal to undecided voters who are struggling to fill up their tanks. The GOP has used pump prices to launch broad attacks on the president’s energy policies, arguing that the administration has stood in the way of expanded domestic oil production.