On the November 4 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed that the price of gasoline was $1.29 per gallon in April 2005. During a segment in which he lamented the current popular discontent over high gasoline prices, Limbaugh stated, “Gasoline price goes up, it comes down. ... It was $1.29. When was it $1.29? Seven months ago.” But according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the national average price of regular conventional-formulation gasoline was $2.20 per gallon on April 4. The last time the national average gasoline price was $1.29 or below was March 18, 2002.

According to DOE, the average price of gasoline in the lower Atlantic region was $2.21 on April 4. The last time the average gasoline price was $1.29 or below in the lower Atlantic region was December 16, 2002. DOE also keeps statistics on average gasoline prices in Miami, approximately 70 miles south of West Palm Beach, Florida, where Limbaugh lives. The average price of gasoline in Miami was $2.30 on April 4. DOE statistics on gasoline prices in Miami are not available from before May 26, 2003, when gasoline cost $1.52 per gallon, on average. The lowest recorded average price of gasoline in Miami from May 26, 2003, to November 7, 2005, was $1.50 per gallon, on July 7, 2003.

From the November 4 broadcast of The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: So, I mean, I, I'm, I'm not in anybody's back pocket. I'm not making excuses. I'm just telling you -- just as the price for things go up and the price for things go down -- the same thing happens in oil. Oil price goes up, it comes down. Gasoline price goes up, it comes down. It's coming down right now. I could have understood, I could have more understood this level of outrage if the price were still averaging $2.85 or 3 bucks a gallon, but it's down to -- it, it's, -- what is it $2.25 now for unleaded regular? It's coming down. It's coming -- doesn't make any sense to get mad now. The -- OK, It was $1.29. When was it $1.29? Seven months ago. OK. Before that it was $1.09, and before that it was 89 [cents], and before that it was 59 [cents]. At what point are you gonna say, “Wait a minute.” Before that it was 29 [cents]. I can -- yeah, I can tell you when gas was 25 cents. You can tell me when it was $1.09. OK. So it's $2.50 today, but it was over three bucks just three weeks ago or four weeks ago.