Bill Press is a syndicated columnist and the co-host of CNN's Crossfire, which airs Monday-Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, and The Spin Room, which airs Monday-Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Gas prices: Bush runs on empty

By Bill Press
Tribune Media Services

WASHINGTON (Tribune Media Services) -- As an aphorism, it is so tired, but so true: where you stand depends on where you sit. And it has never been more true than when applied to George W. Bush and gas prices.

Last summer, candidate Bush, sitting in the Texas governor's chair, was alarmed about rising gas prices. They were hurting American families, he huffed. They were the result of Bill Clinton's inaction, he puffed. And if he were president, Bush bragged, he would know just what to do: "What I think the president ought to do is, he ought to get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say we expect you to open your spigots."

Well, that was then and this is now. This summer, President Bush, sitting in the Oval Office, could care less. Even though gas prices are already higher than last year's record -- and this is only May -- Bush insists there's not one damned thing he can do about them, so he's not even going to try.

Consumer and industry groups have proposed several possible short-term solutions, but Bush has vetoed every one. He's against cutting the 18-cent federal gas tax. He opposes price controls on energy. He's given a cold shoulder to relaxing Clean Air requirements in areas where gas prices are highest. As for calling OPEC, he hasn't called, and he won't say why not. Maybe it would take too much time out from his t-ball games on the South Lawn.

The White House doesn't admit Bush is just sitting on his hands. Its spin is that energy policy is a long-term problem that demands long-term solutions, not quick fixes. "The focus the president wants to concentrate on is how to solve a permanent problem," press secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters this week, "and that's where the core of this matter lies." Lest he be condemned as uncaring, Fleischer quickly added: "The president is not unsympathetic to those who want to provide an immediate reduction, but wants to remind everybody that the solution is long term and the risk in Washington is...Washington never gets around to the long-term solution."

Of course, that is little comfort to millions of Americans stuck with outrageous gas prices this summer, many of whom are already canceling vacation plans because they can no longer afford the long drive. And it totally contradicts everything Bush said last year about the need for a president to act boldly on gas prices. Besides, Fleischer is dead wrong. The risk is not that Washington never gets around to long-term solutions. The risk is that, once elected, politicians renege on their campaign promises. And Bush is proving himself to be no exception.

But there's a method to Bush's madness. He knows there are things he could do to lower gas prices this summer. He could push oil companies to expand refinery hours, or borrow from Canada and Mexico. He could sponsor a temporary cut in the gas tax. And he could pick up the phone and call his old buddies in OPEC, still grateful to his father for saving their butts from Saddam Hussein.

The truth is, Bush could act if he wanted to, he simply chooses not to. Why? Because he wants this crisis. He is enjoying this crisis. He will do everything he can to expand and exploit this crisis, in order to build support for the one and only answer to the energy problem he cares about: More drilling for oil -- in the Alaskan wilderness, off the coasts of California and Florida, and anywhere else he can get away with it.

As Bush and fellow oilman Cheney continue to beat the drum for more oil and gas supply, as well as a minimum 1300 new coal-fired power plants, they ignore the growing body of evidence about the ready availability of alternative and renewable sources of energy, as well as the enormous potential of conservation.

In a study completed in January, scientists from five national laboratories reported that combined energy efficiency programs and new technologies alone could reduce our growth in electricity demand by between 20 and 47 percent. But their study, reported in the New York Times, has not yet been released by the Energy Department, because it conflicts with the Bush Administration's exclusive focus on new supply.

To American consumers, President Bush's message is loud and clear: I will do nothing to help lower gas prices this summer. But, maybe ten years from now, after we've destroyed the Alaskan wilderness, there'll be a little more oil in the pipeline. This should come as great relief when we're paying $3.00 per gallon at the pump.

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