In case you didn’t believe me when I stated this before, the Democrats will say ANYTHING to get Back in power:
he campaigns for President Bush and his likely Democratic opponent, Senator John Kerry, traded accusations today about who is more to blame for gasoline prices that have shot past $2 a gallon in many parts of the country.
“Where is the president?” Mr. Kerry asked in Portland, Ore., where he made a campaign stop at a training center. “We need a president who is fighting for the American worker, the American family, at the fuel pumps, to lower the price of gas in the United States.”
He and several other Democratic leaders accused the president today of breaking a campaign promise to try to control oil prices by pressuring oil-producing nations to increase production.
Several United States senators today called on the White House to release strategic oil reserves they say would help bring down the soaring price of gasoline.”
Let’s make sure we have the events in the correct chronological order:
First, the Democrats accused Bush of not using his close relationship with the Saudi’s to lower the price of oil.
Then, they intentionally mis-interpreted Woodward’s book and accused Bush and the Saudi’s of manipulating the oil market to lower prices to help Bush get elected.
In 2000, Kerry was against tapping the strategic oil reserve.
Today, he is in favor of it.
Liars.
Kimmitt
Man, Kerry just does not fill me with confidence.
Ah, well. Oil prices are like China — every challenger calls the current President’s policy weak and conciliatory, then every one gets into office and discovers that, barring a few tweaks here and there, their predecessor’s policies were there for a reason.
mark
Now would be the perfect time to get another vote on ANWR.
poormedicalstudent
lol @ gas prices becoming such a huge issue. hm…last i checked prices were still HALF of what they were during the true oil shocks of the late 70’s. not to mention, the prices we pay here are still a far cry from those paid in europe and elsewhere.
does it suck that gas costs more than it used to? sure. is it going to destroy our economy? no. should it be a talking point for the dems or the repubs? no, especially since it’s quite obvious Kerry has no consistent stance (let alone an understanding of what is involved).
OPEC will increase supply soon enough, demand will level off towards the end of the summer, and the economy will still be running @ a >4% clip come November 2nd (not to mention employment levels).
Andrew J. Lazarus
Most of the criticism of Kerry here is on target, but not whether he was for or against using the oil reserve in 2000. That’s the point of the reserve: you decide when to use it. This doesn’t make any more sense than accusing me of flip-flopping because last week I decided not to serve my best Cabernet, and this week I did. There might have been many good reasons (e.g., my wine-snob neighbors dropped in).
Dean
Andrew,
You are correct, BUT that only raises the following question: Are oil/gas prices today higher than they were in 2000?
Adjusted for inflation (and that’s important), I believe the answer is “No” (read it but don’t have the citation).
Which then raises the question, why does Kerry want to tap the reserve now?
To go w/ your analogy, if you were serving the exact same meal to the exact same people one week apart, is it a flip-flop to break out your best Cabernet now? More to the point, if you were serving a better meal last week (fois groie) and a lesser meal now (burgers) is it a flip-flop? [Obviously, the real price of gas hasn’t dropped that much, but the example is given to make the point. Substitute foods as needed.]
Far North
It seems as if every single action Bush takes or every word he utters has the singular purpose of getting him re-elected. You can’t accuse Kerry of doing this unless you are prepared to defend Bush’s action’s against the same charge. Seems to me that both are prepared to say whatever is necessary to get elected. So, cut the bleepin hypocrisy.
Fat Cracker
I dunno Far North for someone whose every action is designed to get him reelected Bush does some pretty boneheaded things, such as caving to Democrats and giving up his presidential authority to make recess appointments in the judiciary, or for listening to anyone advise him about anything from his state department, or appointing a partisan grandstanding commission of media whores at the behest of Democrats just to so they can show they have nothing to hide. Think about that for a moment, one of the two major politcal parties in this country has such low self-esteem that it feels necessary to prostrate itself in a public forum to show that it was just plain stupidity and ignorance and not malice that led to 9/11. Oh, and when Democrats stupidly leave private information concerning possibly illegal behavior and definitely unethical behavior as party strategy on confirming judges on an open computer disc drive, what do we get from Republicans? Well the guys who found the information get fired. Nothing happens to Fat Drunk Ted who should at least be censured and instead Orrin Hatch (R-Coward) and Bill Frist (R-Spineless Coward) get under Ted’s and Tom Daschle’s desks to service them. This just blows my mind, a US senator and a representative of constituent community are caught red handed conspriring to rig the judicial nominating process for a federal circuit court judge in order to get a favorable court ruling and nobody makes a friggin’ stink about it. Not the Republicans, not the FBI, not the “news” media, not anyfuckingbody. Sheesh. Anyhoo, sorry about that rant. Bush also does not know undoubtly know the importance of speaking directly to the American people during a time of war. Hell, FDR was no brain surgeon but he knew how to get reelected in war time.
Besides Democrats have always been the party advocating higher gas prices. If not higher prices to support more federal gas tax then at least higher prices to show their Ecotard constituency that they mean it when they want to do away with SUVs, force Detroit to make more effecient autos, and force Americans to conserve.
It’s only when regualar Americans stop giving a shit about the caribou is when the Democrats stop giving a shit about the Ecotard vote. Hypocites? You fuckin’ A they’re hyopcrites.
Justin Ogren
Well of course Kerry is for tapping the reserves…damn the prices are crazy…
I mean they want to stimulate the economy with tax cuts…now the oil problems…there is no stimulation in the economy
Justin Ogren
[email protected] prices becoming an issue….
how many people need to survive everyday and transport themselves when I mean truckers are going to take a heavy toll with diesel being even higher than unleaded in cases….it’s gonna take a toll…a huge domino effect
poormedicalstudent
justin, do some research on the topic. does it hurt companies for energy prices to go up? sure. is this current rise in prices a true ‘shock’ that will decimate our economic recovery? no.
take a look here and note just how far away from ‘oil shock’ we really are. OPEC will increase production in the coming weeks, or at least make a statement to that effect, which should quell the damn speculators who are running up the price.
one last thing, i’ve read in many places that the source of the problem isn’t oil supply, but refining supply. this would lend credence to the idea that speculators are running up the price/barrel.
Andrew J. Lazarus
Gas prices in real dollars are MUCH higher today than they were in 2000. Gas prices are almost double and inflation is running about 3% a year. Either you made a typo, Dean, or you are a very recent immigrant from Saudi Arabia.
What you read (and this is true, but may not be for long) is that in constant dollars, gas still costs less than it did at its very peak in the 1970s.
Dean
Andrew:
You’re wrong. And right.
Gas prices ARE higher today than in 2000, but not necessarily MUCH higher, and certainly not double in price. The retail price of gas in 2000 (nominal prices) was $1.56; there aren’t any inflation adjusters to 2004, but that equated to $.95 in 2002 dollars. (Check the American Petroleum Institute web-site for historical prices.)
Any economists out there?
Justin R. Ogren
I did do research……by living among ridiculousness and I’m not hearing any of these ‘reasons’ why prices are so high.
California energy crisis anyone?
We got screwed on that too.
Dave
Heard of China, Orgren? They’re ramping up their industrialization, and that’s a lot of smokestacks. That’s called “demand”. OPEC? They recently cut what’s called “supply”. Since there’s a ‘world pool’ of oil that everyone buys out of, the prices go up even if we don’t increase our own demand.
Kimmitt
“Gas prices ARE higher today than in 2000, but not necessarily MUCH higher, and certainly not double in price. The retail price of gas in 2000 (nominal prices) was $1.56; there aren’t any inflation adjusters to 2004, but that equated to $.95 in 2002 dollars. (Check the American Petroleum Institute web-site for historical prices.)
Any economists out there?”
Yeah, and I didn’t follow that all. Could you rephrase?