Why didn’t anybody think of this before?

U.S. employment and the U.S. economy both appear to be rising. But so are gas prices. Guess which one gives GOP presidential candidates more joy? Yep, in an election year — and really, don’t these all seem like election years? — what is good for the country is bad for the party not currently occupying the White House. The opposite is also true.

So in a time when all three of the top candidates (sorry, Ron) seem to be rapidly running out of relevance, the specter of $4 gas this summer is like manna from heaven. Check out Newt Gingrich, a man who hasn’t pumped his own gas in 30 years. The cause of high gas prices is simple: Obama. The cure is simple, too: “Drill Here. Drill Now.”

By “here,” I’m assuming Gingrich isn’t talking about any of the four or five neighborhoods he calls home. By “now,” I’m assuming he means sweeping away the needless regulations that have so eroded the profits of energy companies over the past few years. The thing is, it’s a solid two-point plan. When Gingrich is in the White House, we can reclaim the basic American right that is $2.50-a-gallon gasoline. Really. He’s totally sincere about this.

I’m no fan of expensive energy, especially since I drive an old Subaru Forester that gets worse mileage than a Chrysler 300. Hell, as long as we’re lowering the price of gas, why not make it a buck? But it also seems kind of absurd to link seasonal price fluctuations with any particular policy of any particular president. Iran’s president has more effect on gas prices than ours does. So does global demand, global weather and the relative economies of other countries.

Trust me: If the administration had any way to prevent a big spike in gas prices, they’d be doing it right about now. But they don’t. It’s one of the few disadvantages of being the incumbent: When push comes to shove, you also have to be the grownup.