Regardless whether a gas-tax holiday will really do anyone any good, Obama’s failure to anticipate and triangulate the issue is exposing a major weakness of his. Yes, sure. I agree that gas-tax holidays are more pandering than anything else. There are probably better ways to deal with the energy problems. But this is not really the point. The point is, should the government self-inflict some pain when the taxpayers are going through a painful time. Obama insists that suspending the federal gas tax would pull dollars away from necessary infrastructure improvements. And yet, this insistence shows a certain arrogance (or naivety) on his part. Americans are smart enough to know that money (especially Federal tax dollars) is fungible and that pain in one area of the budget can be made up for in another. Moreover, transportation bills are notoriously load with pork.

Obama’s position is untenable because it requires he explain why the taxpayers are wrong to want a tax holiday. This will only reinforce the narrative that Obama is an ideologue and an elitest.

The only way to beat a panderer is to out pander. Obama should say, “Yes, we have to do something, and a tax holiday is a good place to start. But in the long run it will no solve the problem … etc, etc.”