"NASHUA, N.H. -- With his re-election fate increasingly tied to the price Americans are paying at the gas pump, President Obama asked Congress on Thursday to end $4 billion in subsidies for oil and gas companies and vowed to tackle the country’s long-term energy issues while shunning 'phony election-year promises about lower gas prices.'"

"Mr. Obama, in an appearance at Nashua Community College here, took a page out of his jobs strategy of last year, calling on Americans to contact their Congressional representatives and demand a vote on the oil subsidies in the next few weeks.

'You can either stand up for the oil companies, or you can stand up for the American people,' Mr. Obama said. 'You can keep subsidizing a fossil fuel that’s been getting taxpayer dollars for a century, or you can place your bets on a clean-energy future.'"

Helene Cooper and Jonathan Weisman report for the New York Times March 1, 2012. [2]