Posted on 04/24/2006 4:59:57 AM PDT by FerdieMurphy
SAN JOSE -- 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.
You forgot this paragraph:
c. Establish a number of distribution bureaus in each state to make sure that "market information" is maintained, so that no location is running short of gasoline, thus maintaining an even supply and easing any "gas lines" and spot shortages that might otherwise occur.
You are of course correct. It's frightening how many posters on this thread (in a nominally conservative forum) are calling for price caps and other federal interventions. Complete idiots of course. What we need is LESS federal intervention - lower taxes, get rid of the botique blends, get rid of restrictions in drilling in the ANWAR etc. Less government not more.
Refinery capacity is the bottleneck--we're now importing gasoline because we don't have enough refinery capacity to meet our own requirements.
They are both a problem but cheaper costs per barrel will have an immediate impact on the price of a gallon of gas at the pump.
Not much of an impact relative to building a new, modern refinery facility in California, say.
I actually wrote, "Sorry, due to ridiculous gas price increases, I can't afford to contribute to your re-election fund" on the last solicitation form I got in the mail.
He said this during his presidency. 1989-1993. I remember him saying it on c-span.
OK, so find me a citation for this. Clinton would have absolutely crucified him with that statement. He didn't.
So if refining capacity is truly the bottleneck then why are the gas prices rising along with the cost of a barrel of oil?
Right-O!!!
Comments like this along with comments recently on illegal immigrants is definitely going to sink the GOP -- and a good reason Tony Snow should turn down the job....
File it under "H", for Human Nature.
May be irrational but unfortunately they're also quite predictable.
Reckless politicians will waste no time creating the circumstances producing such predictable, albeit irrational, reactions.
Always have, always will.
It's ironic the Liberal-Socialists in league with their quisling mediots couldn't hurt this POTUS; yet, "Big Oil" will devastate the man using "free" markets to bind the hands of the consummer.
Markets mind you that're not physically located stateside, but abroad well beyond any POTUS' reach and/or influence.
Nevertheless this POTUS is extremely vulnerable as would any whenever people are hurting.
The leftist forces of evil will not waste such a golden opportunity to demagogue this pain & do so on a gargantuan scale.
They'll see to it this POTUS (*&* his party) are thoroughly blamed so they pay dearly.
Contemplate the ripple effect of an artificially trumped-up oil market on the rest of our economy.
No matter how it's added up, it doesn't bode well for the right.
And should it ever be revealed the whole thing was "fixed" it may very well become the biggest scandal (of my lifetime), fitting in nicely to the "climate of corruption" allegation(s).
All laid at the feet of a POTUS we were all warned long ago was, "Mr. Big Oil" by the Liberal-Socialist quisling mediots.
Yea-yea predictable, as hell.
As it stands today the mere suggestion Iran be dealt with due to nukes, our POTUS angering the OPEC sheikdoms with speeches promising energy independence et al (as he'd done several weeks ago to the stated horror of some Arab King?), a hurricane is all it takes to justify an exploding "market", huh.
And how sweet is it these oil market manipulations come from abroad, too.
Darnit.
Nation's oil execs have the *luxury* of simply throwing up their hands helpless, shrug & claim the "Free" markets are at work.
Concurrent to their phoney blather they're shoveling profits into the coffers which boggle the imagination.
HA!!
The Islamofacists knew precisely what they had to do to win election(s) in Spain & similar ploys have been used around the globe since resulting in the same outcome.
So it shall be in the good ol' USA.
Whether or not this POTUS can or cannot "control" the situation won't matter, a'tall.
And who's going to ask if the reaction(s) are "rational" or not, nevermind care.
After sufficient ginning-up with leftist propaganda these outrageous oil prices will surely motivate even the most uninformed & lazy of the masses to get off their dead asses & to the polls this election cycle.
Just wait 'n see.
People will go out of their way to vent their rage, big-time.
Good God.
...the Liberal-Socialists must be licking their chops. ;^)
I don't drive much, but I just turned my AC on, and the price of electricity seems to have doubled. Can the president help me with that?
Like France, the governments control the taxes. In New York it's $1.00/gallon combined with the Fed tax.
They've been trying to build a refinery in Yuma for some time now -- thought they were going to get their crude from PEMEX and now PEMEX says no, so they are trying to make a deal with Alberta to get crude from Canada, ship it down the coast in tankers and then run in a pipeline to Baja to the refinery -- and Mexico is right across the channel!
Not everyone can drive smaller cars. Depends on what you do for a living.
. . . like $400 million retirement packages . . .
Wonderful! < /sarcasm> Your solution to problems caused by government is to create more government. You need to do some reading Here and here and here just for starters. Your ignorance of the effects of price controls is so staggering that I suspect you'll need a lot more than just this.
Well, let's see. You probably know that the negotiations precede the meetings. Hu came with an armload of gifts that will improve trade balance. He ordered 80 Boeing jets, caved on intellectual property and ordered $500 million Windows installed in every Chinese computer, and reopened Chinese market to American beef. I was impressed.
What have we gained in our lifestyles -- really -- from NAFTA? We have improved the standard of living in India and China along with CEO's in major corporations, but have we really improved America's standard of living with NAFTA/CAFTA?Outsourceing??
Cab't become his dad, he isn't running again.
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