How the World WorksFacing political doom because of rising gas prices, Bush is desperately trying to keep costs at the pump down. It's a pathetic move by a president who's owned lock, stock and $75-a-barrel by Big Oil
By Andrew Leonard
Hop in a time machine, and turn the clock back two years. Grab some passersby, walking down the street. Shove today's headlines in their faces. President Bush calls for an end to tax breaks on big energy companies! Demands increased investment in renewable energy technologies! Threatens to stop "manipulation" of gas prices!
No doubt, the immediate reaction will be a mixture of fear and befuddlement. What madness is this? What weird alternative reality has broken out? Then hit them with another headline. Bush also eases environmental regulations, in the name of helping out the consumer.
Watch the relaxation. All is back to normal. The future isn't so scary different, after all. An energy crisis is gaining momentum, and the Bush administration is back to its old tricks: exploiting a train wreck to achieve its long-sought objective of gutting any regulation that threatens to constrain its financial backers.
The news today that George Bush is halting the accumulation of strategic oil reserves, recommending the elimination of environmental regulations that mandate specific blends of gasoline, and making wild statements of getting rid of boondoggle tax breaks for the likes of ExxonMobil can all be easily explained by one simple equation. High gas prices = political peril.
http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/