Keller @ Large: Bipartisan Support For Russian Oil Embargo
BOSTON (CBS) - The U.S. embargo on purchases of Russian oil and gas is "a move that has strong bipartisan support in Congress and, I believe, in the country," said President Biden as he announced it.
True enough - for now.
Outrage over the Russian slaughter of innocents and the displacement of millions in Ukraine is palpable.
"As far as I'm concerned, gas prices are irrelevant, the only thing that matters is that we take a stand," said one man at a D.C. gas station interviewed by CBS News.
There's even bipartisan backing from the likes of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), who joked at a press conference in support of the embargo: "[House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi is with us, which made me wonder, what am I doing? She's right!"
And new national polling shows overwhelming support for the embargo, with 71% saying they back the ban on Russian energy, even if it means paying more at the pump.
But with a gallon of gas already topping seven bucks in California, and 44% of us telling pollsters the war could last months while another 23% say it could be years, you've got to wonder - how long will the public's patience hold out?
"We want the Ukrainian people to survive, we're on their side but you don't want the situation to become so dire here that people can't go about their normal lives," says Dave Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center.
And with the memory still lingering of past crises and the price hikes and long lines they triggered, Paleologos says those supportive poll numbers may not hold up for long. "If we get to that point where pollsters ask the question: how is $5 a gallon gas impacting your support of Ukraine, I think you're gonna get a different result," he says.
So, what are the chances this US embargo will have an impact on the Russians?
The United Kingdom is following suit, but neither country is among the top ten importers of Russian energy. And Biden acknowledged today that he doesn't expect our European allies to join the embargo. They're just too dependent on Russia.
If they don't and China continues their heavy importation of Russian fuel, the Russians can wait us out.
But the embargo feeds a sanction momentum that is a critical part of the west's response to the invasion and provides a bargaining chip that might be used to get Russia to step back.
