Bush's PR Stunt Is Too Little, Too Late

So President Bush woke up today and suddenly gave a damn about gas prices. Mr. 32% spent this morning calling for a investigation into possible cheating, price gouging or illegal manipulation in the gasoline markets. He also will asked the EPA to ease clean air restrictions, and he temporarily stopped deposits into the strategic petroleum reserve, a move that will have only a "negligible" impact on gas prices. The media are lapping it up, but they refuse to mention that Bush is forced to face the consequences of his own failed energy policy.

Where has the President been for the last three years or so, as we've seen gas prices skyrocket? First, he promised the Iraq War would lower gas prices. As his senior economic adviser stated in 2002:

"The key issue is oil, and a regime change in Iraq would facilitate an increase in world oil," which would drive down oil prices, giving the U.S. economy an added boost.

It turns out that the Iraq War didn't increase world oil, only oil profits. So, then, President Bush promised that his energy policy (which included massive tax breaks for the oil industry) would help our energy crisis. Well, it did not help, but that result is to be expected when our nation's energy policy is drafted by the oil industry.
So where has the President been? Obviously, his administration does not shoulder all of the blame for high gas prices. But his deliberate absence and incompetence on this issue have only made the situation worse.

Meanwhile, while the President has ignored the issue of high gas prices (stepping up now only because the outrage has reached a fever pitch and his approval numbers have reached a record low), Democrats have been trying to lower gas prices for years now, primarily by pushing a policy that reduces our dependence on oil altogether. You can see a detailed description of the Democrats' actions for energy independence here. And while the President has been twiddling his thumbs as gas prices increase, Democrats have been calling for accountability and a responsible energy policy (click to enlarge).