posted on February 20, 2006 05:19:17 PM new
Hmmm. Alternative fuels have been the mantra of progressive liberals for decades, now the President acts as if his ideas are new. Almost 5 years since 9/11... and Bush has done absolutely nothing but give us rhetoric. What is new here??? Nothing, except it is coming from Bush, but as I suspect, he'll say one thing and do something completely different. Case in point... his "clean coal burning" claims during the State of the Union. He says we should look more towards this method of energy, yet cuts funding for it in the budget. As the article indicates, Bush is simply doing this to deflect attention from Cheney's attempted homocide.
Bush: US must not be "hostage" to foreign oil By Tabassum Zakaria
Reuters
The United States must reduce its dependence on oil from foreign countries that can hold it hostage, President George W. Bush said on Monday as he tried to revive an agenda obscured by controversy over Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident.
"Some of the nations we rely on for oil have unstable governments or fundamental differences with the United States," Bush said in a speech at the start a two-day swing through Wisconsin, Michigan and Colorado.
"These countries know we need their oil and that reduces influence. It creates a national security issue when we're held hostage for energy by foreign nations that may not like us," he added, without naming the countries.
Drawn-out publicity over Cheney's accidental shooting of a quail-hunting partner during a trip to Texas cost Bush valuable time last week in trying to push his agenda. His efforts to promote health care proposals were drowned out by the focus on Cheney, who delayed commenting publicly for four days.
Disputes over a domestic eavesdropping program and the response to Hurricane Katrina have also thrown Bush's administration off stride.
Bush toured a Johnson Controls Inc. battery development center and looked at two hybrid SUVs before speaking at a company headquarters in Milwaukee.
Bush said he envisioned a future in which a plug-in hybrid car could drive 40 miles on a lithium-ion battery, then stop at a filling station for ethanol, a fuel usually made from corn. The trip wouldn't require a drop of oil, he said.
In his State of the Union address last month, Bush said the United States must break an addiction to Middle East oil. He has called for improving alternative-fuel technology to reduce U.S. oil imports from the region by 75 percent by 2025.
'WE'VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING ... NOW'
He has promoted alternative fuels such as ethanol, and research into producing fuel from wood chips or grasses.
Frank Verrastro, director of the energy program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said last week he did not understand why Bush was singling out the Middle East when Saudi Arabia was a reliable oil supplier, compared with Russia, Venezuela and Nigeria.
Bush, a former oilman, said, "I know it came as a shock to some to hear a Texan stand up there in front of the country and say, 'We got a real problem. America is addicted to oil.' But I meant it because it's a true fact and we've got to do something about it now."
High gasoline prices have weighed on Bush's popularity as the midterm election year gets under way with control of Congress up for grabs.
Government figures show the national average price for regular unleaded gasoline last week was $2.28 per gallon, up about 39 cents from a year ago. That was down from the record $3.07 a gallon set in September after Hurricane Katrina disrupted Gulf Coast refineries.
Bush, advocating nuclear power, pointed to France having built 58 nuclear plants since the 1970s, and China having 8 nuclear plants in the works, with plans to build at least 40 more over the next two decades.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Democrats were willing to work with Bush on alternative energy, but last year's energy legislation suggested Bush had different priorities.
"We need more than just rhetoric from a president who let Big Oil write our energy policies," he said.
Democratic lawmakers are upset that Bush's proposed 2007 budget makes a 32 percent cut in an Energy Department program that helps low-income families pay for energy-saving insulation, storm windows and updated water heaters.
It's not who Colin chooses to love, but rather that he found someone willing to accept him for who he is...
