The Great Financial Meltdown of '08

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Originally Posted by smc

Making promises that are IMPOSSIBLE or nearly impossible for a candidate to fulfill are part and parcel of every presidential campaign, regardless of candidate and regardless of party. For instance, during the Republican presidential primaries this year Michele Bachmann promised to return gasoline prices to the $2/gallon level. However, a president has nearly zero power to affect gasoline prices beyond getting a repeal of the 18.4 cent/gallon federal gas tax. OPEC and the market "set" gas prices through their control of the price of oil. Newt Gingrich promised to build a thriving human colony on the moon.

I stand corrected on my pronouns. I had forgotten about Michele Bachmann (although technically she was running for her party's nomination and never made it as far as running for president).