(Newser)
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The AP is out with stats that will not be welcome news at the White House: Gas is at $3.53 a gallon, up 25 cents from Jan. 1. Worse, one forecast sees $4.25 a gallon by May. And as the New York Times reports, the GOP can't wait to make this a campaign issue. “This debate is a debate we want to have,” John Boehner told House Republicans this week, according to an anonymous aide. "Certainly, this summer will see the highest gas prices in years. Your constituents saw those reports, and they’ll be talking about it.”
In fact, the issue already is showing up on the campaign trail, with Rick Santorum faulting President Obama's "radical agenda" on energy and Newt Gingrich tweeting yesterday that "gasoline prices are unacceptable." The Obama team is bracing for the onslaught, and the president is expected to go on the offensive by citing his push to increase fuel efficiency and to open up more areas for natural gas and oil exploration, notes the Times. Republicans, on the other hand, plan to remind voters that Obama rejected (at least for now) the Keystone pipeline.
