Pat Kessler's Mailbag On Bachmann's $2 Gas Claim
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- In Tuesday's Reality Check, Pat Kessler looked at the promise of cheap gas from Minnesota presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, if she is elected.
Kessler questioned whether it is a promise she -- or any -- president can ever keep and for that, Kessler got an earful. Or you could say a mailbag-full.
Bachmann is getting a lot of mileage from her promise of cheap gas, if she's elected president.
"Under President Bachmann, the price of gas will be under $2 a gallon. It will happen," Bachmann told a political rally in South Carolina last week.
Kessler called that claim "questionable" and "misleading," and some of viewers were irritated, defending Bachmann.
Wayne emailed that Kessler was "slamming" Bachmann and that he "need to get an education": (haha, did he really say "need?")
"Yes, gas could go down to $2 per gallon if we drill for oil and stop the speculators. Try this scenario Pat. There is no correlation between the price of gas and the price of oil. As you can see today oil closed at $85 per barrel and gas is at $3.72 per gallon. And when oil was near $140 per barrel the price of gas again is somewhere between $3.72 per gallon and $4.40 per gallon. Your job is to report facts. That my friend is a fact. Now the real question is WHY???????"
Rich B. called the claim "outrageous" that presidents cannot control the price at the pump:
"Remember when George W. Bush announced a domestic policy on drilling for more oil? What happened? Within months, the cost of a gallon of gasoline was dramatically reduced. Dramatically! Look it up."
Kessler also received a lot of response from the other side, too.
On Twitter @sheilagreenfield said: "Reality check? No Sir! The plebs won't stand for reality! It's a *Dumb as we wanna be culture* a la Tom Friedman."
Then there's this: Ray and Ardith W. questioned WCCO's facts and said "shame" on us for "trying to discredit" Bachmann.
"Nothing like trying to discredit her and her claim. Are you that much of an expert to railroad her like you did? Shame on you, unless you have some other facts that are worth printing," they wrote.
But when asked what facts they question, this was the response:
"It's not the facts or 'doubt' you convey, but the way you say it that seems irritable."
Here's what's TRUE.
Oil industry experts say there's not a lot presidents can do to make a rapid impact on oil prices at the pump and the effects from more domestic drilling could take decades.
To check the resources for Kessler's Reality Check, click here to see the original story.
