It’s like old times. 1979 to be exact.

Just 3 1/2 months into the Biden administration and we’ve gone from energy independence to gas lines.

What’s next, 18% percent mortgages? Or will Joe borrow Jimmy Carter’s old cardigan and urge us all to turn down the thermostats?

Yep, everywhere I went yesterday it looked a lot like it did 42 years ago. Long lines of cars snaking around gas stations. Exasperated drivers pounding their steering wheels.

I remember 1979 well because I was living in Northern Virginia and the odd/even gas rationing was chaotic. I became so desperate for fuel for my diesel VW Rabbit that I actually siphoned gallons out of the heating oil tank at my house one day.

I can still taste it.

Yes, I know that’s illegal. I believe the statute has run on that crime. 

I was recalling those days yesterday afternoon when a pal phoned. She was dangerously low on fuel and passing time while she waited in an endless gas line.

She said she hoped the supply would last until she got hers.

It didn’t.

They ran out right in front of me, she texted later in exasperation.

After one and a half hours of searching for gas, my frustrated friend drove home wondering how she’d get to work the rest of the week. That’s when she remembered the lawnmower. She took the gas can and dumped it in her car. Five gallons. It’s going to have to last until the emergency is over.

My lawn is going to be a mess, she added.

So are lots of lawns, judging from the lines around town yesterday.

If it goes on long enough, gas won’t be the only rare commodity. Supply chain problems will kick in. 

Maybe it’s just a happy coincidence that Biden visited with Jimmy Carter last week. Yet the parallels between these hapless administrations are striking.

Gas shortages. Unrest in the Mideast. Skyrocketing prices.

No, Biden didn’t directly cause this pipeline problem. Carter didn’t cause the global oil crisis that happened on his watch either.

This is what happens when the President of the United States is seen as weak. Russian hackers are emboldened and so are the Iranians with their proxy war in Israel.

So what did Grandpa Biden do yesterday with multiple crises brewing?

He called a lid at 3:35. Naptime, I guess. 

Wait. That’s one difference between Biden and Carter. Jimmy botched almost everything he touched but at least he put in a full day of work.