George Bush stepped up to a press conference today to talk about pressing issues, but his aides forgot to wipe off the Kool-aid stains around his mouth, for he had been drinking it heavily before this event. The pResident blamed the Democratic Congress for not giving away more of our nation's coastline to the oil companies, despite admitting that it wouldn't do any good except to " reverse the psychology" problem we have (what is up with all the psycho-babble talk coming from the Republicans these days?).
From RawStory:
"It's time for members of Congress to address the pain that high gas prices are causing our citizens," the president said. "Every extra dollar that American families spend because of high gas prices is one less dollar they can use to put food on the table or send a child to college. The American people deserve better."
Bush acknowledged it could take years before opening the Continental Shelf to oil drilling would result in increased U.S. production. But, he said, at least it would put the nation on the right track toward reducing its reliance on imported oil.
"There is no short term solution," Bush said. "The president doesn't have a magic wand. You can't just say, 'Low gas."
Well he could open the strategic reserve for starters, but that wouldn't be good for the swelling profit margins of his friends in Big Oil. The problem isn't so much finding supplies close to home, but forcing a change in what our energy sources are. The President could have led the nation towards a path of energy independence, but he chose not to time and time again. Appeasing the Saudis and invading Iraq are his way of trying to get more petroleum-based energy.
What the Democratic majority should do is move the debate to alternate energy and promote a bill that takes advantage of the renewable resources we have here at home. Wind and solar power can take care of our needs if we help companies to build the solar panels and wind turbines at a pace that can sustain us in a short period of time. Not only are gas prices skyrocketing (yes, it is this bad) but global warming is getting worse by the moment. By cutting the President off and looking ahead to the future of renewable energy, gas prices and the health of our planet get taken care of. Now if only Reid and Pelosi had the common sense to do it....
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