President taps into the strategic reserves?

Crude oil prices are going up and if there is anything most Americans can't stand, well, it is price of gas at the pump.  It is a stupid idea that we have that somehow gas ought to be cheap.  Irrational, more than stupid.  But, hey, politics is all about the irrational and, therefore,

The Obama administration is considering tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in response to rapidly rising gasoline prices brought on by turmoil in the Middle East, the White House chief of staff, William M. Daley, said on Sunday.

Oh well ... how does the politics of gas price and re-election line up?

One distinction we should make is between a gradual run-up in energy prices — which gives more time for consumers and businesses to adapt, and for the Federal Reserve to mitigate the inflationary effects through monetary policy — and a sudden one: what economists call a ’shock’.
The first case — a gradual change — can be fairly benign. To some extent, in fact, a modest rise in energy prices can be a byproduct of a recovering economy, since a healthier economy stimulates more demand.
... Almost by definition, however, economic forecasts are not good at accounting for the possibility of sudden and supposedly unexpected changes. Given the instability in the Middle East, there may be an elevated risk of such events.... The economic literature is more definitive about the hazards that this type of price change can pose to the economy. A particularly severe shock could trigger a double-dip recession, at which point Mr. Obama’s prospects for a second term would be greatly imperiled.
This may be one reason that Mr. Obama seems to be treading so carefully in the Middle East.

Hmmm ...

I think I way prefer this analysis from America's Finest News Source though: