America seemed to be heading for big trouble

By July 4th, 2008, America seemed to have big problems. The price for a gallon of gas was heading higher. How soon would a gallon cost $10? A liberal from southwestern Michigan boldly asserted that when gas reached $10 a gallon that people would "riot in the streets". The Democrats were set on stopping all new oil drilling in coastal regions and Alaska. They seemed to be on the wrong side of the issue, but would they pay a political price? The Democratic plan seemed to be to nationalize the oil industry after Barack Obama was elected and to blame the oil companies for the oil and gasoline prices. By the Fourth of July, the price of gasoline had become the top issue, overtaking the issues that the Democrats were using to win the 2008 election. Again, they seemed to be on the losing side of the gas price.