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.
To my knowledge Hu negociated the "Windows" with Bill Gates and he ordered the Boeing jets while in Seattle. I don't recall Bush negociating any of this.
We will just have to wait and see if the Chinese actually cave on intellectual property rights.
So if Bush negociated the beef, how much will that help our trade deficit with China?
Because he probably meant it. His father had good contacts with the Saudis as did the Reagan administration. The Saudis did us a lot of favors in keeping the price of oil stabilized, even if meant going against OPEC. I have personal knowledge of that. The Kuwaitis were also grateful for Bush 41's actions to get their country back. Personal diplomacy goes along way in the Middle East, but there are limits.
Now we're left with the old saw of options are limited for the most powerful man in the world. I knew that back in 2000. Didn't the man who made the comment realize that or was it simply a sound bite?
Of course he did. But he also knew from his father, that we had a limited ability to influence events through personal diplomacy.
AGain, in 2000 it was market forces. Candidate Bush suggested market forces could be influenced by him contacting OPEC folks to produce more supply.
OPEC sets limits on production to control prices. Market forces generally prevail but OPEC is the 500 LB gorilla when it comes to the world oil market. Saudi Arabia is the alpha male, who can produce 8 to 10 million bbls a day. This excess capacity (above OPEC caps) can be turned on to stablize the world oil market in times of crisis. There is a reason why every President since FDR has developed a very close relationship with the House of Saud. It is all about oil and the global economy.
I remember what you are talking about. I don't recall congress removing any tax from gas. This was the Clinton $.04 tax that he added to the price of gasoline per gallon. At one point Clinton opened the federal gas reserves which lowered the cost.
Negotiated. All of these people negoTiated.
Neither China nor India are part of NAFTA or CAFTA, as both nations are in Asia, not North or Central America.
That also is a result of government regulations. Milage tests assume a fully charged battery, which is partially discharged by hybrids. The Government runs the tests, and mandates what the milage stickers say. It is a federal crime for the companies to tell you that the milage is or might be anything different from what is on those mandated stickers.
Oh, and as for non-hybrids, the milage varies with them too, since the tests are done with a standard formulation of gasoline...which you can't legally buy at a gas station. You are forced to buy gasoline with a lower energy content instead.
Let's get into some specifics. How will these "distribution bureaus" accomplish those goals?
Well the information came from my brother who was a vp for a major oil company at the time.
Respectfully, you have no clue what you're talking about in several different ways.
For example:
The retiring CEO of EXON did not get $400 million as a retirement package, nor anything close.
The huge change in executive compensation came when Clinton waged a campaign against CEOs (but not athletes or actors or such) being paid more than $1 Million per year in salary. The surcharge put in place forced companies to link executive pay to the vagueries of the stock market, which with the stock market boom caused an explosion in effective executive pay. This happened BECAUSE of the voices of envy, who in acting emotionally and with no clue as to consequences, dove into the sea of unintended consequences. The "globalists" advocated the more stable traditional compensation system - the opposite of what you claim.
Are you suggesting that it's some sort of personal responsibility to have initiative enough to work for money? Dick Gephardt told me it was all about a lottery.
Because at the time, Clinton was actually advocating for increased oil prices to curry favor with Russia? ...And playing around with useless releases of our Strategic Reserve (to be shipped overseas)?
Because at the time, Clinton was actually advocating for increased oil prices to curry favor with Russia? ...And playing around with useless releases of our Strategic Reserve (to be shipped overseas)? ...And OPEC was restricting/reducing supply. Now the problem is more the huge demand.
He told me that too :-)
"There's no quote provided which supports the contention that he said any such thing."
Swell then. I need the quote where the President says, "Yes, here are the things that are possible for the executive branch to do to ease the situation".
How about, "We are Americans, we can and will do whatever it takes to solve this problem, here is our first step..."
Not, "We are addicted to oil". It's nuts. We need leadership here now, not platitudes.
According to the articles freaking out over the $400 million, the package was for 7 million a year, plus stock options - some portion of which he previously had been given as part of his compensation potential, but the option was extended into retirement. It's a lot, but not what it sounds like.
Or at the helm of the S.S. Iknowhowtoread.
The refinery itself is a small part of "investing in a refinery". The legal costs of getting jerked around while trying to build one - and then still never getting an approval - have made building refineries pointless from a business point of view. When was the last non-grandfathered one built? 1978?
Seems to me that paying a generally competent executive is better than paying a boatload of lawyers to drag your company's name through the mud.
And then when China and India are willing to pay $3 a gallon, all that gas that would be sold at $2.50 in the US will be sold elsewhere and there won't be any to be had here.
Hawaii put a cap on gas prices. And for some reason, when the gas prices in the rest of the country came down, the prices in Hawaii stayed right near the cap. Funny how laws have unintended consequences, huh?
Obviously, you have no idea.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.