Does the price of gas impact a president’s approval rating?

Dec 6

Critical Analysis

Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:

Based on the data from the graph above, since 1977 what year had the lowest gas price in the U.S.?
Based on the data from the graph above, since 1977 what year had the highest presidential approval rating in the U.S.?
Describe the big story the graph tells about the relationship between gas prices and presidential approval ratings.
Why do you think that is?
Although the data above doesn’t prove causation (we can’t say for certain that high gas prices cause low approval ratings) we can say that there is a strong correlation (a strong relationship) between gas prices and approval ratings. If you were a president how would the visual above influence your policy making decisions?
A president can’t simply make an executive decree ordering the price of oil to go down, but there are some things presidents can do to influence the price of gas. Describe one action presidents can take regarding gas prices.
The average gas price is $3.22 a gallon. President Biden’s approval rating is 37.9%. Imagine that the average gas price goes up to $5.00 a gallon. How will that impact Biden’s popularity?
If you were President Biden’s senior political advisor what advice would you give him about gas prices?
Here is a list of all the U.S. Presidents in chronological order. Add the names of the presidents onto the appropriate place on the graph above, noting the presidents who were NOT reelected.
As many political observers write, presidents don’t have much control over energy prices which are mostly set by global markets. But many political observers also say that “Americans vote with their wallets,” meaning that economics drive much of their political decision making. Do you think the economy will help Biden win reelection?