It's not just gas prices we should be watching.
The average price of gasoline across the country is currently $2.44 per gallon, down from a high of $3.00 per gallon this summer. The American public, however, remains relatively pessimistic about gas prices, and most Americans do not believe they will continue to decline. While 4 in 10 Americans believe gas prices will be lower by the end of the year, the majority predict prices will be the same or higher. Men -- particularly those aged 55 and older -- Republicans, Midwesterners, Southerners, and those in households earning at least $30,000 annually are most optimistic that gas prices will be lower by the end of the year.
High gas prices this spring and summer most likely helped drag down George W. Bush's job approval ratings and made Republicans more vulnerable heading into this year's midterm elections. The sharp drop in gas prices -- coming just weeks before the November elections -- has made some wonder if the timing is more than a coincidence. But the new poll finds that most Americans do not believe the Bush administration deliberately manipulated the price of gas. About 4 in 10 Americans do, however, believe the decreasing prices were the result of government manipulation, with Democrats especially likely to hold this view.
Well, Dems simply don't trust Bush. But the real price to watch is medication.
Millions of older Americans are confronting a temporary break in their Medicare drug coverage this month that will require them to pay the full cost of their prescriptions or face the painful prospect of going without.
This is the "doughnut hole" in the new Medicare drug benefit that began in January, and advocates for seniors say there is nothing sweet about it. Some seniors knew nothing of the coverage gap until they were hit with a bigger drug bill, advocates say.
Nancy Johnson (CT-Pharma) was running glossy "Nancy saved medicare" ads this summer. She's not running them now. Instead, she runs TNT ads (terror 'n' taxes) exclusively. CT and other states have (unevenly) taken steps to cover the doughnut hole. But seniors aren't dumb. Ask family members. They were pissed at the signup complexity, somewhat pleased with saving money on some things, and are pissed again at the doughnut hole. That's not the note you want to end the campaign on... seniors remain the most reliable demographic to actually vote.
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