In the July 15th White House Press Conference Bush finally admitted "We Understood What Was Coming."
This is proof The Bush/Cheney Administration was and is fully aware of the destructive effects its policies would have upon American families, the financial stress they would bring , and the overall decline they would cause the United States. In his second week in office Bush created the "Energy Task Force" with Vice-president Cheney, the CEO of Haliburton, as its Chairman. The stated objective of this " Task Force" was to "develop an energy policy to help the private sector." So it should be no surprise who has benefited most from the extreme increase in gas prices since Bush and Cheney took office, with both Cheney and Bush coming from the 'energy' industry, or the undue influence Big Oil has had on National Policy.
Indeed , high gas prices are the objective for The Republicans. In the final months of his second term as president, Bush is making hysterical pleas for offshore drilling , the pre-9/11 focus of his presidential campaign. The high gas prices are meant to make the American public cave to the whims of The Oil Industry. Unemployment and jobs for Americans are of little to no concern for President Bush. His focus is on the interest of Oil Corporations, Banks, Security Industries, and "shareholders" ... in other words, The Rich.
That is why, in spite of everything , Bush vows never to "raise taxes". It is hard to imagine a National Emergency so dire as to require The Wealthy in The United States to pay their fair share of the tax burden. As far as The Recession goes -- it is just in the minds of the middle-class and working poor Americans. Bush feels the Nation simply needs to "change psychology". He credits himself with making a "brilliant statement" .... something about waving a magic wand or something. His final word on the matter is, "It's interesting what the price of gasoline has done". He has No Plan to Correct the Imbalance ( Nor Does McCain for that matter).
As far as the Iraq War goes -- Bush now claims, "The Iraqis invited us". Hmmm ...that isn't quite the way I remember it going down. President Bill Clinton released part of The Strategic Oil-Petroleum Reserve to help Americans during the '90's ... but for Bush this is completely out of the question.
But he is willing to "bailout" shareholders in Fannie Mae, although in the same breath Bush insists it "isn't a bailout". He isn't smart enough to think of a new word so we'll have to get back to him on that. In closing, Bush turned the whole press conference into an explanation of why he lifted the ban on offshore drilling. As for the collapse of The United States Economy ... well ... it has been an unfortunate consequence of The Plan.
The Price of Gas ....$4 per gallon. Watching Bush squirm ........Priceless.
