At the Pump

Obama: No 'Silver Bullet' for Gas Prices

Calls for end to $4B in subsidies to oil companies.

While Nissan’s fully electric Leaf car took home the 2011 World Car of the Year Award at the New York International Auto Show on Thursday, President Obama told Americans Saturday there is no “magic bullet” to bring down surging gas prices, which are averaging around $4 a gallon. "Now, whenever gas prices shoot up, like clockwork, you see politicians racing to the cameras, waving three-point plans for $2 gas… The truth is, there's no silver bullet that can bring down gas prices right away," Obama said in his weekly address. He also called for the elimination of $4 billion in annual “taxpayer subsidies” to oil and gas companies, and pushed for alternative energy sources, saying, “We need to invest in clean, renewable energy.” The address came just days after the anniversary of the BP oil spill that wreaked havoc on the U.S. Gulf Coast.