President Barack Obama hit back on Thursday at election-year Republican criticism of his energy policies, offering a staunch defence of his attempts to wean Americans off foreign oil and saying there is no "silver bullet" for high gasoline prices.
Obama sought to deflect growing Republican attacks over rising prices at the pump, blaming recent increases on a mix of factors beyond his control, including tensions with Iran, hot demand from China, India and other emerging economies, and Wall Street speculators taking advantage of the uncertainty.
U.S. gasoline prices have jumped nearly nine cents in the past week, to an average of $3.61 a gallon, and are expected to rise further toward the crucial $4 mark through the summer driving season and the approach of the Nov. 6 election.
In a visit to the University of Miami , Obama offered a modest series of proposals aimed at diversifying fuel supplies and increasing energy efficiency.
"It's the easiest thing in the world (to) make phoney election-year promises about lower gas prices," Obama said, offering his most comprehensive rebuttal yet of the intensifying Republican criticism.
"What's harder is to make a serious, sustained commitment to tackle a problem that may not be solved in one year or one term or even one decade," he said.
Obama's speech was part of a broader White House strategy to try to regain the upper hand in the debate and deflect blame, but the president's arguments may fall on deaf ears if gas prices continue to rise and cause financial pain for voters.
Republicans have made rising gas prices one of their main attack lines against Obama, sensing an electoral vulnerability for the president. His re-election prospects depend in part on his ability to keep a fragile economic recovery afloat and to continue reducing high unemployment.
Republicans seeking to dislodge Obama from the White House are seeking to pin the higher prices on the president's tax and environmental policies they say have hindered domestic production and kept the United States at the mercy of imports.
They cite his decision to block the Keystone pipeline that would transport Canadian oil to refineries in Texas as proof he is beholden to environmentalists.
The Obama administration has delayed a decision on Keystone until after the election, saying the proposed route could pose a danger to water supply in the nation's breadbasket.
