Posted on 04/23/2006 4:37:31 PM PDT by Flavius
President Bush Takes Note of High Gas Prices but Offers Little in the Way of Relief
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- As oil prices hit a record, drivers worried about $3-a-gallon gas and politicians feared the impact on elections, President Bush on Friday acknowledged the pain but seemed resigned to being able to do little about it.
"I know the folks here are suffering at the gas pump," the president said while promoting his competitiveness initiative at the Silicon Valley headquarters of Internet networking company Cisco Systems Inc. "Rising gasoline prices is like taking a -- is like a tax, particularly on the working people and the small-business people."
But to address the immediate problem, Bush offered only a pledge that "if we find any price gouging it will be dealt with firmly."
Bush said that lowering America's dependance on foreign oil imports will help reduce the country's vulnerability to global oil price fluctuations. On Saturday, the president was pushing his proposals to boost spending to develop alternative energy sources, particularly hydrogen-fueled cars.
Critics say Bush's ideas are too modest and focus on solutions that are far from being a reality in the marketplace.
Crude-oil prices broke through $75 a barrel Friday amid concerns about the standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions, rebel disruptions of oil production in Nigeria, and tight U.S. gasoline supplies. Analysts say they are likely to climb even higher.
Prices at the gas pump also kept rising and were not considered at their peak, with the average price of a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline at $2.855. That's 3 cents higher than a day earlier and more than 60 cents higher than a year ago, according to AAA's daily fuel gauge report.
Democratic efforts to score political points by focusing on gas prices have Republicans worried that their majority in Congress could be at risk in the fall midterm elections.
High gas prices were hardly the only problem facing Bush's White House as he embarked on a four-day swing to California and Las Vegas. He was traveling with new chief of staff Joshua Bolten, charged with reinvigorating a White House rocked by public discontent with the Iraq war and a series of missteps ranging from an ill-fated Supreme Court nomination to a bungled response to Hurricane Katrina.
Bush's poll ratings are at their lowest point. Hundreds of protesters called for his resignation near the Cisco compound where he spoke.
Even his trip put the president squarely in the middle of a federal-state dustup.
Bush decided not to grant the pre-emptive federal disaster declaration sought for California's fragile levees by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican who faces a tough re-election fight and has had a chilly relationship with Bush. Instead, the president is allowing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help speed repairs at the state's expense.
Bush seemed aware of the precarious political landscape.
When Bush turned the microphone at Cisco over to Schwarzenegger, the governor said, "First of all, I want to say congratulations."
"For what?" asked the president, appearing genuinely surprised.
The governor, who had discussed the levee issue during a limousine ride with Bush, replied that he was glad to see the president "really paying attention" to the competitiveness issue.
Afterward, Bush talked privately with scholars from Stanford University's Hoover Institution, including former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, a Hoover fellow and early defender of the use of pre-emptive force to deal with Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq.
Plans to hold the meeting at the Hoover Institution were scuttled when protesters blocked Bush's motorcade from going through the only entrance. Shultz, who was already hosting a private dinner for Bush later at his Palo Alto home, had the session moved to his two-story, gray-shingled house.
One reason for a weekend trip with a lot of downtime in beautiful places became clear even before Bush boarded Air Force One to leave Washington. Crew were seen loading two shiny mountain bikes -- one a red-white-and-blue Trek adorned with the presidential seal and "United States of America." With stays scheduled in picturesque Napa Valley and the Palm Springs area, the bikes weren't likely to remain clean for long.
"Tomorrow I'm going to be riding my bike in Napa Valley. I can't wait," Bush told his Cisco audience.
Before returning to Washington Monday night, Bush was making stops to raise money for the national Republican Party, visit with Marines and Navy sailors, and press Congress to break a logjam over the immigration legislation he wants.
On the one hand they call him "King George" and pronounce the administration to be fascists.
While in the next breath they complain that he's not doing more for them.
So, he's NOT the King of America?
So, the administration NOT seizing control of the oil companies and the market shows they are NOT fascists because they can't in a free market society?
WHAAHHHH!!!! ride a frickin' bike, it's 'greener' anyways.
Americans. of course, don't know that the Europeans are paying $6.00 a gallons at the pump. There is an easy way to cut your gas costs: drive fewer miles. Move closer to work. For people shipping freight: send it by train. This will help marginally and take the sting out.
Just asking, but there IS a trip wire that shuts down the stock market in certain cases, isn't there? What about one for the world oil market?
The President had his hands just a little full when he first came into office.
Ha, ha!!! Great satire, but I know some Dem dopes who actually believe that Bush tells oil execs when to raise prices. Your satire isn't far from the truth as regards ignorant Dems.
Fifty years ago my dad bought gas for .12 cents a gallon. The lowest wage here was .25 cents an hour. Do the math. One hour's work bought two gallons of gas fifty years ago.
Today, gas is $2.78 a gallon here. The lowest paid worker here makes about $6.00 an hour. Do the math again.
One hour's work will buy you two gallons of gas today.
So, where is the "High" gas prices per hours worked?
"There is an easy way to cut your gas costs: drive fewer miles. Move closer to work."
So lets see ... sell my $200,000 house in NH, and move to Mass. and buy a $700,000 (thats a cheap house down where I work) so I can be closer to work and save a few bucks diesel per week ... sounds like a winner plan! Yeah!!!!
True I suppose, about the only thing the Pres. can do is wave the EPA designer gasoline blends to free up supplies or temporarily cut the gas tax.
It's never a good idea for the government to artificially impose restrictions on the market.
I personally wish W had the swagger of Reagan and just forced his agenda on the libs, but without a strong GOP senate, he's on shaky ground.
Which incidentally, is a good reason to vote GOP no matter what in the upcoming elections. The only way to get what we want is to increase the GOP majority by enough to weed out the RINOs afterwards... but that's another topic for another thread.
- Such drivel -
It's not total drivel. This is an issue that is hitting every American in the wallet and is bound to adversely affect the Republicans. My disapointment with GWB is that he doesn't take his argument to the people. Why doesn't he address the nation from the Oval office about this and the Iraq war, etc?
If we are supposed to believe he cares, why doesn't he demonstrate that not only does he care, but he has ideas on how to solve problems. That's what Reagan was able to do.
I think GWB is no more inspiring than his father.
Little Ms. Loven usually gets an auto-barf alert...
What would we have him do? Control prices and have supply dry up? What good is $1.25 gasoline if you can't get any? Confiscate profits- and shut down exploration and development? Decree that henceforth the Arabs must sell us their oil at $30 a barrel? How will that work? I hear too many voices in the stores and cafes blaming Bush for the high prices. He decreed them so that his oil buddies could get rich. And these are mostly people who have voted Republican for a generation.
lift the blended fuels mandate, delay it for one year. DO SOMETHING.
Drilling for oil where oil is and building nuke plants is hardly modest these days. However, the Pres is severely restricted in what he can do. He ought to get the Energy Secy out front, whoever that is, and have him beat the MSM senseless.
the specualtive bubble can be broken too.
release some physical oil from the SPR to refiners at $50/bbl. sign a contract with the new iraqi government to replace that oil at $45/bbl, the $5 spread being a form of war repayment.
when the stops underneath all the arbitrage positions get taken out, we'll wring $10-15 out of the price of a barrel in no time.
and from day one - he could have tackled the blended fuel requirements. how many do we have in this country now? we need perhaps 4 blends.
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