Well, it’s not *entirely* fair to use the number from when Obama took office, because the price of gas happened to have bottomed out right then ( http://gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_chart.aspx ). If you give Obama blame for the entire gas price increase from day one, that opens it up for him to take credit for stock prices going up a lot over the same period. It’s perfectly legitimate to use high gas prices to go after in general, though — people are unemployed and underemployed because of his policies, and the rising price of food and gas (also caused by his policies) is really hurting people.
This just might be the Oil Companies October surprise to Obama. As much as it hurts, look at it as a 30 day investment. Lower prices and better days are just around the corner.