Bush Says Little Can Be Done About High Gas Prices

Sierra Times ^ | 4/22/2006 | AP Staff

[rockabyebaby]

Regular is about $2.89 and Premium is $3.19, that was as of Saturday......

[SaintDismas]

Finally, some sanity from someone who realizes its not in the president's control. I think we all need to go back to what worked this last time--buy less and scare those a-wipes into lowering the price. Last time this happened I got to thinking every single time I needed (wanted?) to go somewhere, hey do I HAVE TO? I was surprised at how well this started to work for us, consolidating trips here and there, trying to save. All business started to suffer, people just were'nt going out as much. I'm seriously thinking the next vehicle to buy is the hybrid variety

[Alberta's Child]

OPEC hasn't had any serious ability to control oil prices in years -- especially here in the U.S. It's worth noting that Canada and Mexico -- neither of which is an OPEC country -- are two of our three largest foreign suppliers of oil. And Canada passed Saudi Arabia a few years ago as the largest.

What people don't seem to realize is that increasing our domestic oil production isn't going to help in the long run. Oil -- like just about every other product and service we use in this country -- will be more expensive to produce here in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world.

[avile]

We have to wean ourselves off of foreign oil!

this requires a two pronged approach:

1.Decreasing demand and
2. increasing domestic supply

1- can be done with conservation efforts , biodiesel, hybrids, windmills etc

2- ANWR , off shore drilling, ANWR, more refineries.

Bush unless he wants to become his dad should be pushing both non stop and put the rats on the defensive.
At $3 a gallon I don't think the majority of Americans would be more concerned with caribou sex than keeping money from arab terrorist supporting states.

[Vaquero]

You think so? I started car pooling to work with two other guys a year ago.

that works real well until someone needs to stay late.

No one I know has hours that are that fixed. Work needs to get done...it gets done.

[TheCornerOffice]

Saying there is little he can do just pisses people off. His comments show a callous disregard for common people.

Does anyone have an actual quote from GWB where he says "little can be done about high gas prices"? I see that in the headline by AP or Sierra Times ("Bush Says Little Can Be Done About High Gas Prices "), but I see no direct quote in the article that he actually said those words or anything close to them.

Looks to me like just another case of editorializing (and faking a quote) via headline.

[joesnuffy]

Yep and that was when the US dollar was worth something against the Euros' dollars...

[texastoo]

Reduce taxes???? You are being funny.

Your ideas are good reducing taxes and getting rid of productive additives that drives up the cost.

This attitude of Bushs' that nothing can be done is going to hurt many people this summer. The dims should have no trouble this fall.

[Mayflower Sister]

Point is - NOTHING is being done. I think he likes it that way.

[PackerBronco]

Sure, we should drill ANWR, but don't be deluded into believing it will significantly affect prices any time soon. The reality is that global demand for gas is spiking, especially in China and India.

It's nice to know that at least one person on this thread has a clue about the oil market.

[HamiltonJay]

"if we find any price gouging it will be dealt with firmly."

BS!!! Absolute BS... Futures manipulation is the main thing contributing to high gas prices, and just like Bubba told the SEC don't you dare go after the manipulators in the stock market in the late 90s.... they are not going to be prosecuted by this administration either. End Futures Energy Trading immediately... the market is simply too corrupt.

[Leatherneck_MT]

"Further proof of the utter failure of our government education."

Unfortunately you are 100% wrong on this. Now, before you get upset, let me explain why.

The Government has trained (as in the way you train a dog) the people to sit up and beg for everything.

Therefore the government run education system has done it's job extremely well.

There is, no longer, in this country, any critical thought amongst the masses.

[dogbyte12]

There is alot the President can do. Much of the price right now is driven by speculators. He can actually say things, say things that will lower prices. Even if he plans on nuking Iran in July, he can state that we have decided to give diplomacy another chance, be kinda true, but that one statement would drop oil $3 a barrel instantly. He can jawbone congress to open up drilling. He can propose legislation that gives bigger tax breaks for fuel conservation, both to the people, and to the car companies. He can give tax breaks to people working on next generation solar, and wind power. He can give tax breaks for hydrogen. John Kennedy made a goal of man on the moon by the end of the decade, and we did it. George Bush could make it a priority, a real priority to get off foreign oil through a whole series of actions and we would do it.

We are free to drive what we want. But, we are for the most part patriotic americans. Right now, we need 7.7 mpg better on average to do nothing else, and not need a drop of foreign oil. Not a single drop. We give tax breaks to hybrids, and tax breaks to the car companies to develop larger cars that get just slightly better mileage than current standards. He gives massive tax breaks to corporations that have a large chunk of their workers car pooling or telecommuting. We encourage physicial fitness in this country. If more people decided to take a family bike ride on Saturday instead of a drive that would save fuel.

You combine those with ANWAR and off shore California and Florida, and we are off the foreign teat. There is not just SOMETHING, but LOTS OF THINGS, the President can do.

[snowrip]

Bush said that lowering America's dependance on foreign oil imports will help reduce the country's vulnerability to global oil price fluctuations.

What a gutless, gutless bastard. The republicans have had all three brnches locked up for six years, and have done nothing.

When Bush was elected, I thought to myself "This is a chance to put our country back on course. This is a fighting chance for America's future." When I think of how far they could have taken this country back in the right direction... how much Clinton-era destruction they could have fixed, how many democrat, big-government policies they could have undone, how much liberal government weakness and malaise they could have cured, and how much healthier they could have made our country... When I consider how much power the good guys have, and how they have not only done nothing with it but have also turned into a bunch of gutless, whining, cringing children who are about to turn America back over to the democrats... It is utterly crushing.

[globalheater]

reason:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=HAL&t=2y&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=

[Dog Gone]

Seems like Bush was going to do something about the horrific malpractice awards given to (attorney's) _____. Hummm, nope, that was never discussed after he got my vote.

Your anger has interfered with your memory. President Bush did sign tort reform into law.

Feel free to continue your rant, though.

[texastoo]

I doubt there is a link to this. I remember hearing it and seeing HW Bush saying this on c-span in the late 1980s or early 1990s when he was president. It is probably archived in your local library newspaper department if you care to look for it.

This was long before I had a computer.

[nicko]

sounds reasonable...but the CPI (that bushel basket of goods and services) has gone up also, all of which eats into that $1 per hour wage increase...

[Alberta's Child]

What is so "gutless" about that statement? My only complaint about that statement is that it is so utterly ignorant. The U.S. would still be "vulnerable" to global oil prices even if we didn't import a single drop of foreign oil.

[JackDanielsOldNo7]

windmills

Just not in Hyannisport, MA