Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Analysis

Bush: Nation is too hungry for oil

The president talks of energy independence, but he may have trouble convincing voters he means

By BILL ADAIR
Published February 1, 2006

WASHINGTON - The oil man says the nation is hooked on oil.

President Bush said in his State of the Union address Tuesday night that the nation needs to break its dependence on oil and dramatically expand research into alternative fuels such as ethanol, which can be made from wood chips and prairie grass.

"America is addicted to oil," declared Bush, a headline-perfect sound bite that you'll hear again and again on today's news shows.

The image of wood chips powering the family minivan was a convenient distraction from congressional scandals, Hurricane Katrina, the body count in Iraq and the prospect of nukes in Iran.

Much of Bush's speech touched on old themes: staying the course in Iraq, supporting democracy around the world and fighting AIDs at home and abroad.

Of the smorgasbord of topics in Bush's address, the future of oil was the one most likely to affect our wallets. Noting that "the best way to break this addiction is through technology," Bush announced the Advanced Energy Initiative, a 22 percent increase in the government's research on clean energy.

"To change how we power our homes and offices, we will invest more in zero-emission coal-fired plants; revolutionary solar and wind technologies; and clean, safe nuclear energy," he said.

He said the nation "must also change how we power our automobiles." He vowed to increase research in batteries for hybrid and electric cars, in hydrogen-powered vehicles and new ways of producting ethanol.

"Our goal is to make this new kind of ethanol practical and competitive within six years," he said. The new technologies could replace more than 75 percent of the nation's Middle East oil by 2025.

Ideas that are grandiose and quirky often show up in State of the Union speeches.

President Ronald Reagan endorsed an "Orient Express" space plane that could fly 25 times the speed of sound. President Bill Clinton said schools should teach character education and suggested that school uniforms might stop kids from killing each other over designer clothes.

But talk is cheap. Will Bush put the force of his presidency behind the energy proposals? He has proven he can be effective on issues he cares deeply about - Iraq, tax cuts, the war on terrorism. He has been less effective on domestic initiatives that don't mesh easily with his fundamental beliefs in freedom, cutting taxes and reducing regulation.

Remember his 2004 proposal to go to the moon and Mars? He has said little about it since then.

His comments about oil addiction may ring hollow with many Americans. Bush not only comes from an oil family (his White House bio boasts that he owned an oil and gas company), but his administration has boosted the oil industry at every turn. With Exxon reporting a $36-billion profit for last year, many people will wonder if he sincerely wants to break an addiction that puts food on the Bush dinner table.

His administration has never been gung-ho about conserving energy. When fuel prices skyrocketed last year, Bush raised the White House thermostats but offered only tepid support for conservation. In 2001, Vice President Dick Cheney said, "Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue, but it cannot be the basis of a sound energy policy."

Instead, Bush has called for more capacity to refine oil. His philosophy could be summed up by a Doritos slogan: Crunch all you want. . . . We'll make more.

Now, Bush's presidency is at a fragile point. He couldn't muster the votes to pass his Social Security plan, the centerpiece of last year's State of the Union. He made missteps in responding to Hurricane Katrina. A top White House aide, Scooter Libby, has been indicted.

Polls show Bush's approval rating hovering in the low 40s. His party is being blamed for an assortment of congressional scandals and there are likely to be more damaging revelations over the next few months. The bad news probably will get worse.

Bush emphasized the bright spots in his speech Tuesday. He said the economy is "healthy, and vigorous, and growing faster than other major industrialized nations." He said violent crime rates are down, youth drug use is down, there are fewer abortions and fewer births to teenage mothers.

"These gains are evidence of a quiet transformation - a revolution of conscience, in which a rising generation is finding that a life of personal responsibility is a life of fulfillment," Bush said.

He said government played a role in these gains thanks to welfare reform, drug education and support for abstinence and adoption.

Bush's challenge in his final three years is to confront the nation's problems head-on, regain his momentum and find issues that respond to people's real concerns.

A breakthrough on alternative fuels could be a signature issue for a presidency that has gone adrift. But Bush has to convince the nation that he, too, has ended his own dependence on oil.

[Last modified February 1, 2006, 01:25:13]