Trust Me ~ I Never THOUGHT You were Harry Freakin' Potter

"There is no short term solution," Bush said. "The president doesn't have a magic wand. You can't just say, 'Low gas."

Asked about his comment earlier this year that he hadn't heard of $4 gasoline, Bush said: "I've heard of it now."

President Bush at press conference, 07/15/08

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I'm REALLY tired of this "magic wand" comment. The President must have said it 4 times of late. And my opinion is: Please knock it off, Sir.

The POINT is that a great many policies, both private and governmental have lead us to the situation we are in now.

And my opinion is that the entire focus of this administration regarding oil has been on the supply side... the profits side... the corporate side. Even if we drill all over the continental shelf, we aren't going to pull more than 2-3 years' worth of oil or gas out. The president has pushed for increased drilling for 8 years. THAT WON'T MATTER AND IT WON'T WORK.
WHY, Sir, haven't you pushed for and suggested ways to reduce demand? Why hasn't here been increased requirements for conservation? Why haven't we done EVERYTHING possible to find alternative energy sources? Because you believe that it's a private sector matter and because encouraging (or at the VERY least, being ambivalent to) grabbing massive profits suits your desires and the pocket books of your friends and lobbyists.

What about DOING THE RIGHT THING?

If oil was too inexpensive before to fund alternative sources & technologies, then why wasn't that research subsidized and funded? Did you think that we'd always have enough oil? that it wasn't going to run out? Of course not .... but there was no interest in planning for that future...for taking the big, and yes, painful steps to set this country on the path to LEADING THE WAY to find solutions.

China and other countries are just now setting their growth and dependency on this finite supply. And we have missed the boat by not creating the opportunity to show them how to skip the industrial "oil" age. THAT'S where our future should be...

SAFE nuclear energy... BRAND NEW energy technologies.... SOLAR, WIND, WATER power....
Not new drilling. Not mistakenly converting this country's crops to inefficient corn ethanol subsidies when the predicted climate change will require everything we have to help feed ourselves and others.

I am 50. I was taught this was coming when I was a schoolboy. And no one has done much of anything about it. How sad and pathetic.

And the LAST thing I need is a snarky president who gets "testy" and makes useless references to magic wands. LEAD, for crying out loud.

This infuriates me to no end.


Oh, and the smart remark about the $4/gallon? You deserved that for being so arrogant the first time you were asked, Sir. It was an insult to Americans everywhere for you to respond as you originally did.

188 days, 8 hoursd, 32 minutes left.... and then we have to begin fixing what has been wrought.

This country, which I love, is in deep and serious trouble.