1115.org

Put this President’s back to the wall, keep it there long enough, and he will abandon deeply held principles, passionately defended positions.

Bush in September 2000 (in remarks aimed at President Clinton):

The Strategic Reserve is an insurance policy meant for a sudden disruption of our energy supply or for war. Strategic Reserve should not be used as an attempt to drive down oil prices right before an election. It should not be used for short-term political gain at the cost of long-term national security.

Bush in May 2004:

Secondly, we will not play politics with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. That Petroleum Reserve is in place in case of major disruptions of energy supplies to the United States. The idea of emptying the Strategic Petroleum Reserve plays — would put America in a dangerous position in the war on terror. We’re at war. We face a tough and determined enemy on all fronts. And we must not put ourselves in a worse position in this war. And playing politics with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve would do just that.

Bush on April 25, 2006:

Third part of the plan to confront high gas prices is to boost our supplies of crude oil and gasoline. It makes sense when the supply-and-demand world, if prices are high, it means demand is greater than supply. One way to ease price is to increase supply. One immediate way we can signal to people we’re serious about increasing supply is to stop making purchases or deposits to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for a short period of time.

I’ve directed the Department of Energy to defer filling the reserve this summer. Our strategic reserve is sufficiently large enough to guard against any major supply disruption over the next few months. So by deferring deposits until the fall, we’ll leave a little more oil on the market. Every little bit helps.

Surprise, surprise! The President is not exactly above playing politics with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

By his own analysis, he has just put us in a worse position in the war on Iraq. When you do this for short-term political gain, why is it not treason just as if you were doing it for pieces of silver?

How does this man manage to get through his life without having at least four or five people come up to him each day and spit in his face, consequences be damned?

Also, will anyone who took Economics 101 and received a grade of C or higher please explain to the President – as slowly as necessary, and in terms he can understand – that when you suspend purchases, you are not increasing supply you are reducing demand?

Or, what the hell, I really shouldn’t shirk public service responsibilities, no matter how distasteful. So here goes.

Mr. President, when you buy something, that’s demand, see? Demand. Demand is buying. And demand is downward-sloping, because when a country develops a huge appetite for oil, and starts to buy vast amounts of it, that’s a slippery slope, that’s one of the lessons of history, you know, it takes you down a slippery slope. And you end up having to make bold statements in a State of the Union address. But you know all about that, I’m digressing. Where was I? Oh yes, demand. So demand is when you buy, okay? Or when you want to buy. Then there’s supply. It’s a demand and supply world, right? Demand and supply. Can’t have demand without supply, you know, except in cold war Russia, ha ha, but not in the U.S., not in our economy which is the envy of the whole world. Or maybe only for a little while after Katrina, and that wasn’t anyone’s fault, was it? But certainly not in the long term. But getting back on track, demand is when you buy, so some have said supply is when you don’t buy, which is plain wrong. Some people say supply is selling, but that’s not true either. Supply is producing. When you drill a well in the Arctic Refuge, that’s supply. If you drill many wells, that’s an increase in supply, not a drop in demand. (Yes, because demand is when you buy, very good! See, it’s not that hard?) If a pipeline leaks and spills oil in the frozen Alaskan tundra, or if a tanker goes aground in pristine Prince William Sound, that’s a drop in supply, not an increase in demand, see? Supply is upward-sloping. Not just to be ornery, and not just because demand and supply have sworn never to see eye to eye. Supply is upward-sloping because when you want more oil, it’s like a long uphill climb to fetch a pail of water. So if you stop buying oil for a while, that’s a drop in demand, and not an increase in supply. Because you’re not drilling a well. Only oil companies do that. And surely it’s right for them to make handsome profits, even humongous profits? Because it’s dangerous, risky work. You might fall down and break your crown. Or you might end up tumbling after.