Polls and Prices at Pump

By William D. Zeranski

It has been said that the Democrats benefit from economic hard times. The financial markets offer up enough chaos to keep a 24/7 news cycle dripping with despair, but at the pump, many Americans may have a different perspective and one which deserves watching.

Price at pump $3 and sinking
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Cheapest crude since Feb., falling demand drive down cost; more declines expected.
Tom Greenwood / The Detroit News
While the economy might be in the tank, there's a bright spot for motorists: It's costing less to fill up the tank.

Tumbling Crude Lowers Price At Pump
Wichita, Kansas Has Cheapest Gas In Nation
POSTED: 9:48 pm EDT October 12, 2008
UPDATED: 10:00 pm EDT October 12, 2008
CAMARILLO, Calif. -- The tumbling price of crude oil has turned into a price break at the pump.

Pleasure at Pump: Some Gas Prices Under $3 in South Florida
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 7:54 AM
(Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel) By Mc Nelly Torres, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Oct. 15--South Floridians expressed relief Tuesday as certain gasoline stations began dropping prices below $3 per gallon for regular gas for the first time in at least a year.

A few extra dollars in the pocket of the American consumer may not make a happy voter but a less agitated one.

Even as OPEC decided to cut oil production, prices dropped.

Nigeria: Oil in Free Fall Despite Opec Cut
This Day (Lagos)
25 October 2008
Posted to the web 25 October 2008
Chika Amanze-Nwachuku
Lagos
Citing the current global financial crisis, which has slowed demand for oil, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), yesterday at its 150th Extraordinary Meeting in Vienna, Austria agreed to cut its current production of 28.808 million barrels a day by 1.5 million barrels per day, with effect from November 1, 2008.

But the announcement did not stop the price of crude oil from plunging, as it fell to $63.04pb yesterday.

Now, this production cut won't go into effect until November, and that's after the election.

So, what is the relationship between the price at the pump and the polling numbers? I don't think anyone has checked, but maybe gas prices are an indicator someone should be looking at.