Consumer confidence has fallen in the last two weeks. According to Gallup, the likely cause is rising gas prices.
And how do rising gas prices affect political perceptions of the president? History offers proof of correlation, if not causation. Via Bloomberg Business Week:
Translation: The White House can't be too happy about this, as Nate Silver noted today.
Of course, President Obama is a longtime champion for trying to wean Americans off of fossil fuels. In a sane political world, the voters would reward him for that, making more likely not just his re-election but also the policy changes necessary to make us energy independent (and, by the way, save the planet).