(AP) Democrat Barack Obama on Friday blamed high gasoline prices on Washington and a political establishment that he says hasn't stood up to oil companies, his two rivals for the presidency included.
"The candidates with the Washington experience - my opponents - are good people. They mean well, but they've been in Washington for a long time and even with all that experience they talk about, nothing has happened," Obama said in remarks delivered at a gas station. "This country didn't raise fuel efficiency standards for over 30 years."
The result, the Illinois senator said, is that consumers are suffering.
"So what have we got to show for all that experience?" Obama asked. "Gas that's approaching $4 a gallon."
In the speech, Obama called for a windfall profits tax on oil companies, with the money used to help consumers pay utility bills. He also said middle-class tax breaks he's proposed would help families with energy costs.
What did Obama say last week???
U.S. President Barack Obama said that gas prices would remain high for the foreseeable future and that there’s “not much we can do” to bring them down.
