Via
Wonkette, this absolute gem of a Q and A with Our Preznit.
First the question:
Q Mr. President, you had mentioned refining capacity. I'd like to ask you about an offer from the Kuwaiti oil minister, who has said that he is willing to offer to build a capacity -- a refining capacity in the U.S.; it would be the first time in about 30 years. Says he's asked for White House assistance -- assistance -- assistance getting permits and fed support and so forth. What do you think of a proposal like that?
And his answer. Emphasis mine:
THE PRESIDENT: I am for increasing supply, because I understand when the more supply there is of a product, that will take pressure off of price. I haven't seen this specific proposal. But I've also talked to U.S. refiners who have said, we'd like to expand onsite, but the amount of paperwork necessary to do so is staggering. The issue of new source review, for example, is one that we've reviewed and said that, for the sake of, in this case, the expeditious expansion -- and wise and careful expansion -- of refining capacity, we ought to look at those rules and regulations. And yet we're back in court.
And so I think if you take a good look at what it means to build a refinery, or expand a refinery, you'll find there's a lot of regulations and paperwork that are required, thereby delaying the capacity for more product to come on to the market and discouraging people from doing -- building refineries. That's why we haven't had one since 1970-something.
So it's an interesting offer, and we'll, of course, look at it. The first thing we need to look at is how to encourage people to do just that without getting -- without all kinds of time being taken up through the bureaucratic hurdles.
Now, there are people here far more qualified than I am to pick this apart. But if there is one thing I have taken away from diaries by the likes of Jérôme à Paris, it's that the US hasn't built any refineries for so long because there's been no benefit in building them [note: corrected from original].
Bush tips his hand, though, when he corrects "expeditious" to "wise and careful." This is just another excuse to roll back any regulations at all, despite the fact that under existing regulations, NO is a toxic stew. I can't believe that the real goal here is the short term expansion of refining capability to meet an acute spike in demand. He's just using the occasion to gut any regulation of the oil industry.
The transcript is full of fascinating nuggets of Bushthink, and some choice Bushisms. You can watch his sentences fall apart when he discusses poverty. You can see bits of extraordinary magical thinking like this:
I have said that ownership is a way to counter poverty and being stuck in impoverished situations, and so homeownership is up.