Bush will finally admit in tonight's SOTU that America is addicted to oil. It's important that as Republicans try to launch efforts to appear progressive on this issue, we must steadfastly remind the public of White House obstructionism regarding attempts at progress in this regard.
According to CNN Bush will say "America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. ... The best way to break this addiction is through technology."
Ah, so Bush claims he's a visionary, and has the magical foresight to see the problems that our oil dependence will have down the road. Well, in reality, lets fire up the way-back machine and see what the White House said regarding oil conservation, and American addiction to it, a few years back.
Taken from the
May 7, 2001 White House press briefing. Sorry, it's not as amusing as the Scotty Show, but still interesting to see their stubborness. And somewhat scary at the scenarios that have come to fruition, which back then Ari dismissed as nothing to worry about.
Q Is one of the problems with this, and the entire energy field, American lifestyles? Does the President believe that, given the amount of energy Americans consume per capita, how much it exceeds any other citizen in any other country in the world, does the President believe we need to correct our lifestyles to address the energy problem?
MR. FLEISCHER: That's a big no. The President believes that it's an American way of life, and that it should be the goal of policy makers to protect the American way of life. The American way of life is a blessed one. And we have a bounty of resources in this country. What we need to do is make certain that we're able to get those resources in an efficient way, in a way that also emphasizes protecting the environment and conservation, into the hands of consumers so they can make the choices that they want to make as they live their lives day to day.
Next Ari says it's perfectly acceptable for Americans to consume ridiculous amounts of oil, because it's our way of life, and that should be preserved.
Q So Americans should go on consuming as much more energy than any other citizens in any other countries of the world, as long as they want?
MR. FLEISCHER: Terry, the President believes that the American people are very wise and that, given the right incentives, they will know how and they will make their own right determinations about how much they can conserve, just as the President announced last week that the federal government, as part of its consumership in California will reduce energy needs -- for example, the Department of Defense facilities in California, by 10 percent. He believes the American people, too, will make the right decisions about conservation and the program he will announce shortly will also include a series of conservation items.
But the President also believes that the American people's use of energy is a reflection of the strength of our economy, of the way of life that the American people have come to enjoy. And he wants to make certain that a national energy policy is comprehensive, that includes conservation, includes a way of allowing the American people to continue to enjoy the way of life that has made the United States such a leading nation in the world.
And this next tidbit is amazing, it nearly predicts the price-gouging that has occured in the past few years, the windfall profits that the oil companies have pulled in recently, and even mentions some of the high gas prices we've had recently that Ari just brushed aside as nonsensical speculation. He even makes some jabs at Jimmy Carter's attempts to acknowledge this problem in the 70's.
Q There were also some examples there, though, of maximizing profits. And what will this White House do in the next couple of months to make sure that none of that goes on?
MR. FLEISCHER: I've answered that question. The Department of Justice will remain vigilant to make certain there's no price gouging.
Q On gas prices -- I'm sorry, let me just see if we can close it. I'm intrigued by your, "that's a big no" answer to Terry's question, and the blessed American way of life. If Americans buying gas guzzling SUVs and using oil in the way they do leads to $3 a gallon gasoline, is the President going to say nothing about changing the way of life?+
MR. FLEISCHER: Mark, I think when you take a look at the fact that SUVs have been on the market for 10 years, and that the price hike is going only on now, there was a time just five years ago where gas was available in Virginia, I remember, for 70 cents a gallon. So it's not the presence of SUVs that have caused the problem, it's a comprehensive problem that is caused not by that factor alone -- rising CAFE standards have helped in the past many years. But the problem comes from a fundamental imbalance between supply and demand.
Q Just to be clear, your "big no" means that he is not going to be suggesting changes in the way of life --
MR. FLEISCHER: The point I was making is that the President will focus on a series of initiatives that involve conservation, that involve increased production, that involve greater infrastructure building, to make certain that the energy can flow. The American way of life is something that needs to be protected as we enjoy our resources and we enjoy the American standard of living.
In the 1970s there was somewhat of an effort to make certain that Americans lowered their standard of living. The President does not think we need to do that. The President believes that America can enjoy a high standard of living as we address America's energy problems.
So there you have it. The White House believes that energy conservation, regulations, and improved energy technologies will "lower the standard of living". Let's see how much they flip-flop in tonight's SOTU.
But most importantly, we must point out that it was liberals who were raising these issues for the past quarter of a century, but were silenced by Republican obstructionism and close-mindedness. Don't let Bush take any credit for any such proposals or admissions he might offer tonight.