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.
Regular is about $2.89 and Premium is $3.19, that was as of Saturday......
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
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.
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.
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.
Yep and that was when the US dollar was worth something against the Euros' dollars...
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.
Point is - NOTHING is being done. I think he likes it that way.
It's nice to know that at least one person on this thread has a clue about the oil market.
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.
"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.
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.
Your anger has interfered with your memory. President Bush did sign tort reform into law.
Feel free to continue your rant, though.
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.
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...
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.
Just not in Hyannisport, MA
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