Bush To Talk Up Corporate Energy Bill To Deflect Hits On High Gas Prices

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Two numbers have dominated White House discussions about the president's
domestic agenda in recent days: rising gas prices and the president's falling
approval ratings. While much of Washington has been trying to forecast the
political impact of the Terri Schiavo case and the struggle to overhaul Social
Security, Bush's aides maintain there is a pocketbook explanation for the
downward slide in the president's polls. "Schiavo didn't drop the numbers,"
says RNC senior adviser Matthew Dowd, who was Bush's top strategist in last
year's campaign. "It's gas prices primarily." Two polls last week gave Bush
just 41 percent approval on his handling of the economy and an overall
approval rating of 48 percent. Whether their concern is political or economic,
Bush's advisers are looking for a way out. "They are very concerned," says one
administration official.


While his aides concede there is little they can do to shift prices
quickly, Bush has been grappling with the issue in recent internal
discussions, including his cabinet meeting last week. Now White House
officials tell NEWSWEEK that Bush will become increasingly vocal in public
about fuel costs, seizing on the public concern to push ahead with his long-
stalled energy bill, as well as delivering speeches on energy issues,
including new technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells and cleaner coal. "If
the Congress had acted three years ago, some of the policies we put forward
could have had an impact today," says one senior Bush aide. The Department of
Energy predicted last week that gas prices will reach a peak monthly average
of $2.35 per gallon in May, around the time the legislative battles should be
in full swing. "With the price of gasoline where it is, that ought to be
enough this time to cause people to get moving on the bill," Bush told
reporters on Air Force One as he returned from Rome last week.

Bush's aides like to say the problem is one of supply and demand: faced
with rapidly growing economies in Asia, they say, suppliers cannot keep pace
in the United States, not least because drilling is not allowed in the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge. But that view isn't entirely shared by Crown Prince
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who will travel to the president's ranch in
Crawford, Texas, toward the end of this month. The Saudis believe there is
plenty of supply in the world -- not least their own -- and blame the high gas
prices in the United States on bottlenecks inside the country, especially the
complex state-by-state regulations of gasoline blends and a lack of new
refineries. (Bush's aides say the problems of refinery capacity will be
addressed in the new energy bill.)

In the meantime, the president will look like he's addressing the problem
simply by talking to the Saudi leader. "And come September," says one official
planning for the meeting, "prices will inevitably drop when the driving season
is over."
--Richard Wolffe and Tamara Lipper

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7445652/site/newsweek /



SOURCE Newsweek
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[dbt]

1. "If the Congre$$ had acted three years ago?"

Would this be the REPUBLICAN Congre$$? Moreover, why is Congre$$ional action even necessary? If memory serves, all bu$hler had to do was "jawbone" them Oil Moolahs into "turning on the spigot."

[rodeodance]

3. we are talking of the Cheney industry friendly bill!!-and stupid people

will suddenly want it passed thinking their filling up their tanks bill bill go down. lordy lordy!!

[izzie]

2. I am not so sure

If they can get these high cost now they may just keep them around. What happened to the Bush that knew these people and could talk to them? Do I re-call him saying something on this when he first ran? By-the-way why would corp.. build new refinery if they know we have reached peck oil? What we need is some new young blood who can think in DC

[Deja Q]

4. The only way out was summarily executed 22 years ago by RONALD REAGAN.

The smoked gipper merrily terminated JIMMY CARTER's alternative energy programs, claiming "obsolescence", no less. x(

Bush has nobody to blame except every president since but excluding Carter who has done NOTHING to address and RESOLVE the REAL issue. And that's EVERY president since Carter, no exceptions.

Carter was the last Great American president; we've had corporate lickers ever since.

[slaveplanet]

5. very telling statement

The Saudis believe there is
plenty of supply in the world -

[Mist]

6. That caught my eye, too. The Saudi also remarked we need

more refineries. Apparently, while the "light" or "sweet" oil, which we buy from the Saudis, is running out, we could buy cruder oil if we had the refinery capacity. And what was that remark by a * aide, "prices will drop when the driving season is over." For a majority of Americans who lack access to public transportaion, the "driving season" is year round!:wtf: