RUSH: The Wall Street Journal: You find out that the thing that’s most on people’s minds is not Baghdad, it’s not Iraq, it isn’t Afghanistan, it isn’t Germany, it’s not the Victory Column, it’s not Obama. It’s the economy. ‘Congress will likely break for the summer without passing legislation to curb high gasoline prices, but Americans are fashioning their own energy policy founded on conservation and support for more production.’
Once again, a huge opportunity for all Republicans. The American people in great numbers want us to drill. They don’t want to hear drivel from Democrats. It’s drill versus drivel and the Democrats are the ones that are standing in the way of it and everybody knows it. In addition to that, remember back when the President had his press conference when he announced he is lifting the executive order on domestic drilling and some New Castrati in the Drive-By press corps: ‘Mr. President, Mr. President, are you going to tell the American people to conserve? Are you going to tell the people to turn off their thermostats and turn off their power sources and drive less, Mr. President?’ Remember that question? And what was Bush’s answer? Bush says, (paraphrasing) ‘I don’t need to tell them that. They’re grown-ups, they know what to do, know what to conserve.’ They are doing it: ‘Americans are fashioning their own energy policy, founded on conservation and support for more production. A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds that energy — including gasoline and utility costs — ranks as the economic issue that voters say affects them the most personally.’
While all this dog and pony show’s going on over in Europe, domestic issues as I point out here, gasoline price, gasoline price, gasoline price, drill, drill, drill, Democrats in opposition, this is the Republican issue. And the Wall Street Journal/NBC poll confirms it. Didn’t need the poll to confirm this. The Drive-Bys could have listened to this program and saved themselves the money it cost them to conduct the poll. ‘New data indicate Americans are conserving energy with fervor.’ I’m reminded again of the reporters questioning Bush last week wanting to know why Bush wasn’t going to tell stupid Americans how to conserve energy and Bush, to his credit, did not condescend, said the American people are adults; they can figure it out. Democrats who are elitists expected Bush to talk to voters as if they were schoolchildren. ‘The Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that gasoline stocks posted a 2.8 million-barrel build in the week ended July 18.’ This is why we don’t need any release from the strategic reserve that Pelosi wants. And by the way, if drilling doesn’t make a difference, if we can’t drill our way out of this, then how can 700 million barrels from the strategic reserve help our way out of this as Pelosi wants.
There’s not a shortage. Have you seen the oil price? The oil price was down to $123 earlier this morning as I checked, and it’s been plummeting. And jet fuel costs are coming down. All those airplanes have been parked, less fuel is being used, gasoline and jet fuel and diesel. What’s happening to the supply? It’s going up. What’s happening to the price? It’s coming down. But that strategic reserve oil, a question, ladies and gentlemen, how do we get it? Maybe somebody should call the speaker of the house, send a note to her office: ‘Mrs. Pelosi, you want to release 700 million barrels from the strategic reserve. How did it get there? We had to drill for it, didn’t we?’ I mean, if she wants the 700 million barrels released in order to help with the price, which is not going to do that much, it’s not that much oil, it’s a one-time thing you can do, the oil had to be drilled. So drilling will lead to relief. We can drill our way out of this. We drilled our way into the strategic reserve.