Bush has contributed to the record oil prices by his stubborn handling of the SPR, not only refusing all past appeals to release any from it as prices continue to hit new records, but even continuing to divert oil into it no matter what the price. Guess what usually precedes every recession - can you say record high oil prices?
http://www.usatoday.com/money/indust...-oil-spr_x.htm

excerpts:

Oil rises toward $49 as government mulls reserves
WASHINGTON (AP) — Oil prices climbed toward $49 a barrel Thursday even after the Bush administration said it is considering lending crude from the nation's emergency stockpile to refiners experiencing supply disruptions caused by Hurricane Ivan.

Light crude for November delivery rose 30 cents to $48.65 a barrel in afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, retreating from an intraday high of $49.

Analysts say the impact on red-hot energy markets would ultimately depend on the amount of oil made available from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, though they expected the size of any crude oil loans — and the effect on prices — to be small.

"If there is any oil loaned from the reserve it will be minimal and certainly not enough ... to make up for oil production that continues to be lost on a daily basis," said John Kilduff, senior oil analyst at Fimat USA in New York.

Fadel Gheit, senior vice president of oil and gas research at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York, said lending oil from the SPR to refiners is "too little, too late." He also blamed the Bush administration for contributing to today's soaring prices through its policy of adding to the country's emergency stockpile at a time when global demand and prices are high.

"He scared China and India and Korea and everybody else that we were anticipating supply shortages," Gheit said, leading them to buy more oil than they needed and inflating global demand. "When somebody spots the mayor loading up on bottled water in the supermarket, guess what they're going to do?"

In the past, President Bush has resisted calls to tap the SPR, located in Texas and Louisiana, in an effort to counter soaring consumer prices. Instead, the White House has said that filling the reserve to its maximum 700 million barrels is a matter of national security and should not be interrupted.

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<<Cheer up, the worst is yet to come.>>

yeah...supply and demand sucks...

I believe this country should start weening itself off oil and start heavily researching alternative methods of fuel...but I know...that'll never happen...

Since the price of oil will probably do little but go up, it is probably not a bad idea to keep the SPR intact. Also, with the winter coming, it would be foolish to use any of the reserves to artificially lower the price. The most I would support would be for him to stop adding to the reserve for the meantime. Of course when the price spikes to $55 a barrel, we will wish that he bought at $49.

The way the world is going, the $50 barrel of oil will be cheap in the near future. We are getting to the point where the tar sands in Canada will be profitable. LOL

The only thing anyone can hope for is innovation and conservation.

Because I am always thinking, I have an idea. The US has over 2M people in prison. I think we should take a tip from Gilligan's Island and create exercise bikes and attach them to the power grid. Let the 2M prisoners create energy by pedaling. LOL

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"George W. Bush surrounds himself with smart people the way a hole surrounds itself with a donut." —Dennis Miller

Yeah, if Bush had acted back in the Spring when the Saudis threatened to cut production and started this current price spiral in oil, we might not be seeing these kinds of prices now. But then the oil companies wouldn't be making their record profits, so ...

PJ, I like your idea to let prisoners generate electricity. Of course if the Bush administration implemented it, they'd probably buy motorized stationary bikes that would consume electricity instead of generating any.

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<<Cheer up, the worst is yet to come.>>

I thought the liberal reasoning was that BUSH WANTED OIL PRICES TO INCREASE to benefit his buddies in the energy industry. Now you're suggesting that this will ruin our economy and potentially result in him being voted out of office?

Sorry, y'all can't claim both positions. Either this war was for oil, or it wasn't. Did Bush go to war for cheap oil? Or for expensive oil? You tell me?

Pretzel logic rears it's ugly head again on the left.

Catz

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I'll get nicer when you get smarter.

That is nothing but a short term fix, and not a long term solution to the root cause: increasing demand for oil.

Besides, if Bush DID dip into the SPR, all the Dems would just say then that Bush is manipulating oil supply for political gain.

Ya can't have it both ways.

But first he would contract with Halliburton to run the electrical outlets (with no bids of course) and then Bush would start to refer to himself as the "Energy President." LOL

"God told me to strike at al-Queda and I struck at them, and then God told me to strike at Hussein and I struck at him, and now God told me to strike at high energy prices...."

Maybe for exercise we could hook up a bike for Bush also. After all, it is hard to fall off an exercise bike, right?

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"George W. Bush surrounds himself with smart people the way a hole surrounds itself with a donut." —Dennis Miller

First of all, I can't speak for liberal reasoning, you'll have to ask a liberal.

Apparently this is an impossible concept for some here to grasp, but you don't have to be a liberal to oppose a dimwit (Bush).

Now, as for my position on Bush's going to war for oil, this was not his only reason but it undoubtedly figured into the equation. And certainly not for cheap oil, but for oil company profits (which has been very successful).

And if you don't think a huge increase in energy prices can negatively affect our economy, you need to take a look at what has happened in the past with similar events. It's not just Joe Sixpack that is affected when he fills up his SUV, but everything in our economy depends on oil, from fertilizer to plastics, all manufacturing, of course everything must be shipped, etc., etc., so guess what? It's a domino effect, the price of everything increases and then gets passed on. Which can then lead to runaway inflation, and/or recession.

Your statement that Bush would be voted out of office for ruining our economy is really bizarre, because although he is a joke where the economy is concerned and will continue to be, you and his other rabid supporters refuse to hold him accountable (it's always someone else's fault). Apparently the only issue for you is that he will bomb the "boogeymen" for you and keep us in perpetual war.

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<<Cheer up, the worst is yet to come.>>

Your statement that Bush would be voted out of office for ruining our economy is really bizarre, because although he is a joke where the economy is concerned and will continue to be, you ****** refuse to hold him accountable (it's always someone else's fault). Apparently the only issue for you is that he will bomb the "boogeymen" for you and keep us in perpetual war.

What are you some kind of Clinton apologist? The economy went into a slide late in Clinton's 2nd term.. Bush inherited a recession.. Compounded by the attack on 911 which has killed the airline industry (Apparent to everyone looking).. You guys can't look beyond your own hatred. You say your not a liberal.. Why do you persist with such a charade.. Ok Redneck.. How will Kerry's proposals, which total something like $2.2 Trillion, http://www.aei.org/publications/pubI...pub_detail.asp and his promise to tax everyone making more than $200k/yr more heavily,, Tell me, how will that create jobs and stimulate our economy?

Cracka book..

PS- Bush was an excellent fighter pilot, by all accounts, and holds an MBA from Harvard.. Just because someones momma didn't teach him to run off at the mouth, doesn't make him a dimwit and you know it or you're not in touch with reality.. Do what's right this November.

Moderated: Offensive namecalling removed.

Redneck wrote:I rest my case! LOL!

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<<Cheer up, the worst is yet to come.>>