For those of you who believe that "Bush" is causing it: How does President Bush cause gas prices to be high?

Question

I had a customer today who believed that "Bush" (in his words not mine-I would say "President Bush") is causing the high gas prices. If you honestly believe that President Bush is causing gas prices to be high please explain HOW the President is controlling gas prices. What specifically is he doing to make gas prices high. How in the world, in a free market ecomomy can one man manipulate the price of gas? This question is ONLY FOR THOSE WHO GENERALLY THINK UNFAVORABLY OF OUR PRESIDENT. So far I am 100 % on choosing my best answers (none of my questions have gone to voting). I am looking for honesty mostly because I think it is just a way for people who do not like the President to vent there frustrations that he is President,but maybe I am wrong maybe people have logical reasons to really believe that the President is causing you and I to be paying very high gas prices at the pump.

Thank you all for your answers. I gave a thumbs up to everyone who answered as of the time of me typing this message. I have enough answers to ponder over and want to thank you all. Now i have to make the difficult choice of choosing the best. There are several good answers in here and Buzz_daw thank you for making me laugh :)
RCBucas I agree with you that you can be patriotic and still question the wisdom of any war. It looks like we did not learn the lesson of Vietnam. I wish I could choose 3 or 5 best answers but regrettably I can only choose one.

There really are several very good answers here. I have considered just putting this up for a vote but I do not want any of the answers with name calling to win. The answers so far seem sincere with one humorous one but the humor was very good and in good taste and I enjoyed the humorous answer.

Answer 1

Dear Patriotic American,
Bush has nothing to do with gas prices. However, he continues to play politics with our young soldiers' lives. You can still be patriotic and question the wisdom of a President who continues to let our soldiers be picked off one by one while forming a theocracy in Iraq at best. Witness the elections in Lebanon and Gaza, where Hezbollah and Hamas (respectively) have ended up in power. We either go in to win, or we need to get out.

As for gas prices, they are due to a lack of refining capacity. We are paying the price for excessive environmentalism and a NIMBY attitude.

Answer 2

People just can't answer the question being asked, can they? Anyway here is my take:

I don't necessarily believe Bush is causing it, but he is certainly not helping. Because of his singular focus on Iraq and Saddam in particular, he has neglected everything else. At the beginning of his adminstration, he brushed off the talk of any conservation of gasoline usage. Now when the situation comes to bear, he is all about conservation.

Invading Iraq is the most mistake regarding to foreign affairs an US president can ever made. Now Iraq is a hopeless mess. The hostilities between Shi'tes and Sunnis are never more intense. Middle East is close to all out regional war while Bush is still refusing all out diplomatic efforts ( with regarding to Iran, guess what, US wanted to help Iran to build nuclear plants a couple decades back, but it did not pan out due of lack of political will, the ironies just never ends).

Bush may not be causing oil prices to run high, but all of what he does seem to make the problem worse. The gas price will continue to go high until it's high enough for people to change their driving habits. LIke it was said, it's all about supply and demand.


XR

Answer 3

Why would President Bush have kept gas prices high when he was running for president back in 2004? They weren't high then, if he really could have done something about it then he would have to help him get elected. The fact is that America is a capalist country, in which, the government does not control enterprise, we have free enterprise. The people who are raising prices is China because they increased the demand and the supply stayed the same there for pushing the price up to slow the demand. Leave President Bush alone he has done very well given the circumstances he has had to endure.

Answer 4

well... do you know the gas/oil market... what speculators are and what they do?

I'll just say this... no matter who you are, or what you believe... you rattle your sword or attack an oil producing nation... the price of oil will ALWAYS go up... because of supply and demand...

people are worried about the stability of supply in a war, as it is often affected by war... and it's a world market, so it affects the world cost of oil...

so, even if you don't go to war, and just talk strongly to a nation like Iran... people will worry about it and it has spiked prices in the past... (ever read the "why gas prices are high" stories in the paper, Iran is mentioned often)

the only real question is... "do you think he's doing this on purpose, or it's just an unstoppable by product of his actions that he had to take?"

it works exactly the same with oranges and a possible freeze, prices go up on just the fear of a freeze, even before they know for sure the possible effects of a freeze...

and possible disruption of supply usually does cause some effect in the market... sometimes small, sometimes large...

granted, there are other factors at play too, like refineries and some that have been shut down for some odd, if you ask me, reasons... but that's another question...

it's all pretty basic economics...

Answer 5

Due to President Bush's desire to go to war in Iraq the price of oil has gone up. But this is not the one and only reason for the high price of gas. You can blame "Corprate America" or Cheneys double super secret spy meetings behind more super secret closed doors, or we can accept the responsibility. Why would any company sell its product cheaper than it can get away with. We need to cut down consumption drastically if we want to see a change in price. Its partially the Presidents fault, but it's mostly our fault.

Answer 6

Hearsay, speculation, and just plain stupidity are all running ramped as reason for high gas prices. The facts point to the EPA, of which for the past 25 yrs has denied oil companies to drill for oil as well as build much needed refineries within the USA, thus we are forced to purchase petroleum products from foreign sources of which can set the prices at any level they so choose. In my opinion the EPA has overstepped it's bounds and is mainly responsible for high fuel costs, but lets not just point our fingers at the EPA, for many facts point to technology that would have moved us beyond our dependency on oil several years ago, but said technology was filed under, "We're Greedy rotten BOBBz-(Big Oil Business Bastards)" and will not allow such technology to be developed yet" Much more information and facts are available regarding this topic, thus for those that will take the time to weigh all the facts the info is there via several internet sources, so the lets blame Bush butt-heads should just be ignored for the lazy pass it on dummies they are.

Answer 7

Neither It is due to overvaluation but not of the extreme sort that preceded the internet bubble. The DJIA is not a good indicator of the stock market, it is simply a basket of 30 blue-chip, large-cap stacks. The price/earnings ratio of the Dow is slightly above 23 right now. It is generally at around 18. I personally believe that the Dow is up on speculation and I will probably short it shortly. The S&P 500 better represents the market. It has not yet reached its pre-implosion high from 2000.

Answer 8

President Bush as well as the current administration is in the pockets of Corporate America. Big business (primarily large corporations), are responsible for adjusting prices accordingly with their agenda and the OPEC Cartel plays along with the profiteering and greed associated thusly. It doesn't take a rocket surgeon or brain scientist to realize the world is partially manipulated by these economic behemoths. Both of the two major political parties in this country are bought and paid for. President Bush leads the current administration and must accept a large portion of responsibility thereof.

Answer 9

President Bush's actions and inactions have definitely contributed to the high prices we are paying for our transportation and utilities. I can think of two chief ways in which he can be held responsible for this situation. First, he has caused major political and military instability in the Mideast (which has always driven the price of crude oil), and second, he has yet to call for a well-funded national program to develop renewable and sustainable alternative energy along the lines of the Manhattan Project or the Space Program.

I assure you that for half of what we've spent in Iraq, we could be well on our way to energy independence. The investment in infrastructure and industry that would accompany such a major project would put everybody to work who wants to work, and provide for expansion far into the future.

We'll have to do it eventually anyway. The longer we put off the inevitable, the higher the prices we will pay at the pumps in the meantime.

Answer 10

It was actually Dick Cheney who had closed door meetings with leaders in the oil industry prior to all the price fixing. The Bush administration is absolutely responsible for organizing/coordinating industry wide practices that have led to record high prices and record high profits for the oil industry.

What practices? Price fixing, refinery explosions, fires, mishaps, the Iraq war and other unnecessary involvement in the Middle East.

I neither like nor dislike Bush and Cheney. The FACTS alone are enough to lead me to suspect that they are involved in the market manipulations that are costing us and profitting them.