It the economy... oh.

Republicans also think that talking up the economy will aid their cause in November. This isn't going to help:

Gas prices will be higher this spring and summer than last year, and news of any developing hurricanes and tropical storms could send them rising more late this summer, a federal government report said today.

That's especially bad news for consumers in the Washington region, where gas prices have jumped 18 percent during the past month and are higher than the national average.

Nationally, regular gas will average $2.62 per gallon during the "summer" period -- from now until Sept. 30 -- up 25 cents from the same period last year, the Energy Information Administration reported.

Gas here is already over $3/gallon, and the only thing keeping rumbling down is the fact that it's been high for so long.

People are resigned to paying a lot for gasoline - there's little they can do about it. But it's not going to help their personal finance picture become rosier than it is, and that's a problem for the ruling party come election time.