MT. HOLLY, N.C. -- President Obama took a subtle jab at his Republican opponents in November on Wednesday, continuing in a theme of the president drawing increased contrasts with his GOP rivals.
Speaking at a truck plant in this crucial swing state, the president made reference to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's recent campaign theme of promising $2.50/gallon gasoline prices as a result of less restrictive energy policies.
“The next time you hear some politician trotting out some 3-point plan for two-dollar gas, you let them know, we know better,” Obama told a cheering audience, many of whom were union members sporting “United Auto Workers” T-shirts, at the Daimler Mount Holly truck manufacturing plant, located right outside of Charlotte.
The quip appears to be part of an increased effort by the president to send jabs toward the Republicans jockeying for his job. He swiped last week at Rick Santorum's notion claim that Obama's efforts to encourage higher education made him a "snob." And on Tuesday, Obama tersely responded to the Republicans' criticism of his handling of foreign policy: "They're not commander-in-chief."
Obama was visiting Daimler, which produces trucks that run on natural gas, to announce a new initiative to spur investment in fuel-efficient cars. But North Carolina is also politically crucial, as Obama looks to repeat his narrow 2008 victory, when he became the first Democrat to win the state since Jimmy Carter in 1976.
But how many folks here will actually vote for him is still in question. Recent North Carolina polls suggest more voters approve of President Obama’s job now than a few months ago, although they still have serious misgivings about his stewardship of the economy.
A recent Elon University survey found his February job approval rating at 45 percent, up slightly from when the question was last asked in November (43 percent). But a higher percentage of voters -- 48 percent -- said they disapproved of his job overall.
And he is still underwater when it comes to the economy, with a 51 percent disapproval rating and 43 percent approval. But that’s an improvement from September, when his economic disapproval clocked in at 57 percent with only 37 percent approving.
Despite his warm words meant for swing state ears today, Obama spent most of his speech highlighting the work his administration has done to diversify domestic energy sources and decrease dependence on foreign oil, taking a lighthearted jab at his Republican challengers for not giving him enough credit on oil production.
“Since I took office, America’s dependence on foreign oil has gone down every single year,” he said. “You wouldn’t know it from listening to some of these folks out here. Some of these folks,” he repeated, grinning.
He also took another shot at Congress, his frequent foil, for not acting to repeal tax expenditures for oil companies.
“We should put every member of Congress on the record: They can stand up for the oil companies or they can stand up for the American people and this new energy future,” he said.
And while this event was billed as a strictly apolitical policy rollout, Obama hinted at the fact that he is seeking another four-year term, which the audience picked up on immediately.
“We may not get there in one term,” he said, before pausing -- just enough time for the audience to start chanting “Four more years! Four more years!”
But in a response to the president’s speech, Republican National Committee chairman said Reince Priebus said Obama does not deserve a second term because his efforts to drive down gas prices have failed.
“In the last three years, President Obama has spent valuable taxpayer dollars picking winners and losers and breaking his promises to keep gas prices low and to increase the number of electric cars on the road. There is no reason to believe that today’s promises will be any different and is just another reason why North Carolinians can’t afford a second term of Barack Obama,” Priebus said in a written statement.
