Cheney Reneges On Dubya's Campaign Promise To Pressure OPEC To Drop Oil  Prices

During the election campaign, Dubya was adamant that the US should pressure OPEC to drop oil prices.  He said, "What I think the president ought to do is get on the phone with the OPEC Cartel and say 'We expect you to open your spigots.  The president of the United Sates must jawbone OPEC to lower the price." The Chief Fossil changed all that yesterday on "Meet The Press".

(5/21/01)  In the world of Dick Cheney, oil prices are just fine and domestic gasoline prices should be blamed on strict air quality standards that hinder production.  I personally don't consider $2.00/gallon a fair price, but when was the last time Cheney had to pump gas and pay the bill? This is really not a change in policy; it is simply another assault on environmentalists who are putting up stiff resistance to the notion that we should compromise our air quality for the convenience of the Bush/Cheney oil cartel.

It became widely publicized that Houston became the US city with the worst air during Governor Dubya's term. This is directly due to the large number of oil refineries.

Meanwhile in California....

Governor Gray Davis is pushing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to impose temporary limits on electricy prices.  The average cost of a megawatt of electricity has jumped from $30 to $2000 (that's right, two thousand dollars) in the last year.  Support for price caps is growing in Congress on both sides of the aisle as the GOPERS up for re-election in 2002 realize that the Dubya/Cheney do-nothing free market approach is indefensible in an election campaign.