Our President, a true visionary...

[headscratcher4]

George W. Bush, asked today whether he regrets not doing more during his first term to prevent high gas prices now: "You might remember when I first came in. I think the price of oil was like -- I know it was below $20. And it's all of a sudden now that the price of oil is up, alternatives become much more economically viable, and therefore I think the American people are going to see a lot of technological development happen quickly, which will enable people to have different options and different choices."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/04/20060428-2.html

So, you see, the spike in oil prices is all part of Bush's forward looking vision of an energy economy that isn't dependent on Oil. In fact, I suspect the reason that Cheney wanted to keep participation in the energy meetings secret was because he was telling Oil Companies that their era was over, that the Bush Administration was going to do anything it could to hike prices thus creating momentum NOT FOR DRILLING IN ALASKA -- as their cover story might have you believe -- but for creating alternative sources of energy.

He's brilliant. I am so ashamed of my prior lack of respect.

 

[zakur]

But it should be easy to lower oil prices. In 2000, George W. said that all you had to to was get on the phone with OPEC and "jawbone" them into opening their spigots.

 

[headscratcher4]

Why do you hate post9-11 thinking?

 

[Zep]

So... What does the Bush family do for a living??

 

[pgwenthold]

But it should be easy to lower oil prices. In 2000, George W. said that all you had to to was get on the phone with OPEC and "jawbone" them into opening their spigots.

So I'm not the only one who remembers the claims that Bush could use his ties with the oil industry to keep gas prices down?

 

[senorpogo]

It's all a globalist plot.

Remember that when the revolution comes and you're the first mindless jerk with his back against the wall.

 

[zakur]

So I'm not the only one who remembers the claims that Bush could use his ties with the oil industry to keep gas prices down?

Yeah, but I've heard "9/11 changed everything."

For posterity's sake here are GW's own words:

"I think the president ought to get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say: ‘We expect you to open your spigots’ …The president of the United States must jawbone OPEC members to lower the price. And if, in fact, there is collusion amongst big oil, he ought to intercede there as well."
Financial Times, February 2, 2000

"I would work with our friends in OPEC to convince them to open up the spigot, to increase the supply. … Use the capital that my administration will earn, with the Kuwaitis or the Saudis, and convince them to open up the spigot."
New York Times, June 28, 2000

"We're dependent upon crude. … I would hope the administration would convince our friends in OPEC to open the spigots."
Los Angeles Times, June 22, 2000

"I think Americans ought to be asking, ‘Where's all the capital we earned overseas after defending some of our OPEC nation friends?’"
Associated Press, March 20, 2001

"Well, we've got good relations with a lot of members of OPEC. If the president does his job, the president will earn capital in the Middle East, and the president should have good standing with those nations. It's important for the president to explain, in clear terms, what high energy prices will not only do to our economy, but what high energy prices will do to the world economy."
CNN, January 26, 2000

And on the campaign trail in 2000, Bush spokesman Scott McClellan cited rising gas prices as an example of "failed leadership."

 

[Manny]

So how are OPEC's spigots? Open, or not so much?

 

[ImaginalDisc]

So how are OPEC's spigots? Open, or not so much?

Are they keeping their production low to raise prices, and maximize profits perhaps? It *is* capitalism, and they control a large share of the market. It's in their interests to do so.

 

[Manny]

Are they keeping their production low to raise prices, and maximize profits perhaps? It *is* capitalism, and they control a large share of the market. It's in their interests to do so.

Well, exactly. Mine was a factual question to which the answer can be determined. So, people who think that the President was some kind of a moron for saying he'd jawbone OPEC into opening its spigots, are they open or not?

 

[zakur]

Well, exactly. Mine was a factual question to which the answer can be determined. So, people who think that the President was some kind of a moron for saying he'd jawbone OPEC into opening its spigots, are they open or not?

Do you know the answer? If so, what are the imnplications considering current gasoline prices

If OPEC's spigots are not wide open, it means Bush could not, or would not, do what he promised to do when he ran for President.

If OPEC's spigots are wide open (regardless of whether they are that way due to GW's "jawboning"), that means that the factors that influence gasoline prices are much more complex than Bush's simplistic model of "Ask friends to increase crude supply = Poof! lower gasoline prices.

 

[Mark]

Has anyone else noticed that they are no longer even pretending that the gasoline prices have anything to do with the price of crude?

Btw, there are only about, what, 7 or 8 major oil company CEOs? They could lower prices if they wanted to. They just don't want to; it really isn't any more complicated than that.

 

[DavidJames]

Well, exactly. Mine was a factual question to which the answer can be determined. So, people who think that the President was some kind of a moron for saying he'd jawbone OPEC into opening its spigots, are they open or not?

Seriously, do you think the president was differentiating between open and closed spigots?

You don't think he was referring to supply and ultimately referring to the price of crude?

 

[Manny]

Seriously, do you think the president was differentiating between open and closed spigots?

You don't think he was referring to supply and ultimately referring to the price of crude?

Oh, probably. And the President has done everything in his power and maybe some things beyond his power to increase supply. But no. No Wyoming, no ANWR, no Florida coast, no California coast. The very blogs which repeat these quotes ad nauseum opposed the President at every turn on increasing domestic supply. As regards foreign supply, the spigots are open.

Here's an exercise: Find those quotes in their contexts. Find out if the President also talks about increasing domestic supply, including ANWR. That project would be flowing its first barrels right about now. Hey, here's an example.

Look, in late 1999 and early 2000 OPEC cut production to try to run oil prices up. They said that was the reason. They had spare capacity and they took it off the market. OK, that's what cartels do. Then-governor Bush said that well, gee, they shouldn't be doing that; they should open the spigots and if we can't convince them to do that it's a failure of diplomacy. One might reasonably argue with that conclusion, but the underlying fact, that the specific, traceable reason for the increase in oil prices at that time was OPEC's production cutbacks, is not in dispute. Now those same countries are running at full bore. That is also not in dispute. So what the president was saying should happen in all those quotes up there is exactly what did happen.

There are lots of things one might reasonably argue. For example, if oil were $35 right now OPEC might be cutting back -- that would be an example of the President not being able to do what he said the Clinton administration ought to do. One might reasonably argue that $35 was actually a pretty good price for crude, notwithstanding that it was $10 a couple years prior. But one can't reasonably argue that those statements are meaningful in an argument against the President's policies in any current context, because the stuff he said should happen happened.

 

[Mark]

Oh, probably. And the President has done everything in his power and maybe some things beyond his power to increase supply. But no. No Wyoming, no ANWR, no Florida coast, no California coast. The very blogs which repeat these quotes ad nauseum opposed the President at every turn on increasing domestic supply. As regards foreign supply, the spigots are open.

Here's an exercise: Find those quotes in their contexts. Find out if the President also talks about increasing domestic supply, including ANWR. That project would be flowing its first barrels right about now. Hey, here's an example.

Look, in late 1999 and early 2000 OPEC cut production to try to run oil prices up. They said that was the reason. They had spare capacity and they took it off the market. OK, that's what cartels do. Then-governor Bush said that well, gee, they shouldn't be doing that; they should open the spigots and if we can't convince them to do that it's a failure of diplomacy. One might reasonably argue with that conclusion, but the underlying fact, that the specific, traceable reason for the increase in oil prices at that time was OPEC's production cutbacks, is not in dispute. Now those same countries are running at full bore. That is also not in dispute. So what the president was saying should happen in all those quotes up there is exactly what did happen.

There are lots of things one might reasonably argue. For example, if oil were $35 right now OPEC might be cutting back -- that would be an example of the President not being able to do what he said the Clinton administration ought to do. One might reasonably argue that $35 was actually a pretty good price for crude, notwithstanding that it was $10 a couple years prior. But one can't reasonably argue that those statements are meaningful in an argument against the President's policies in any current context, because the stuff he said should happen happened.

So your argument is that even though there are no shortages, if we would only allow more drilling, the price would come down. That might work if supply and demand was what was driving the price up. It isn't...it's just greed. There is no supply and demand when the supply is controlled by a handful of companies.

Competition is what makes supply and demand work, and there is no real competition here.