Gas Tax Post Mortem

The media is deciphering how the gas tax issue played to Obama's advantage. Popular theory - Obama benefited from having Clinton take the same position as McCain. Fair point. Of course, the media never bothered to point out that Obama was taking the same position as Bush. The gas tax was defined by the non-stop condemnation it took from the national media. Not a single economist supports this plan. Are these the same economists who say inflation is only 3%?