McCain: Give Bush credit for oil price drop
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/07/19/art.mccainsat.ap.jpg caption="McCain said Pres. Bush deserves more credit for oil price drop Wednesday."]
(CNN) - John McCain — whose campaign launched an ad this week blaming Barack Obama for high prices at the pump — said Wednesday President Bush's new push for offshore oil drilling deserves the credit for the recent drop in crude oil prices.
"In case you missed it, soon as the President announced that we were going to end the moratorium on offshore drilling the price of a barrel of oil went down $10," the presumptive Republican nominee said at a Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania town hall.
Crude oil prices are down about $20 a barrel from their record-setting intra-day high of $147.27 a barrel back on July 11.
President Bush announced on July 14 he was lifting executive ban on offshore drilling, although Congress has yet to act on his call to lift its own drilling ban.
Asked about McCain's comments today, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino replied, "I don't know that we fully deserve the credit, but I do think in was important to send a signal to the market that we are serious about moving forward."
Earlier this week, McCain's campaign released a new television spot blaming Barack Obama's opposition to offshore drilling for the nation’s rising gas prices.
For more on McCain's town hall event, tune into Campbell Brown: Election Center tonight at 8 pm ET.
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holy cow, this guy is losing it. This has nothing what so ever to do with hypothetical drilling........and more to do with people using less.....just wait till winter.
I want to respond to these claims intelligently but I need for McCain to show his intelligence first so that I am not having a one-sided conversation.
I actually have tears in my eyes from laughing at this one.
The total ignorance of McLame on the economy is astounding. The lower oil price is due to the the oil market seeing a falling economy and calculating a lower oil demand. if McSenile is President the next great depression will be right behind him.
No way, no how. The only way Bush "caused" the decline is that the crashing US economy means less demand for oil. That's exactly what made oil give back $10 of its $130 rise under a Republican administration.
The Republican Party is broken because of the neocons. Bush in 7 years spent $37 trillion more than Bill Clinton's 8-year administration did. Only the Libertarian Party now stands for the free market and less government spending.
McCain is yesterday's neo-conservative leadership. Vote for the only true conservative in this race... Bob Barr!
sounds like the oil companies are lowering prices just enough to convince the easily convinced to re-elect them; come november, of course the prices would go right back up. It happened in 2004... oh ye country with the shortest memory...
I've come to the conclusion that McCain is trying to lose by saying the craziest things he can come up with. I guess they figure that Dubya has screwed things up so bad that the next president will have a no win situation on their hands...........that has to be it.
THE VILLAGE IDIOT IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT !!!!!!!!!!
Mr. McCain he will only be president another couple of months, stop licking his boots. Oh I forgot you need his help to raise money. What A PHONEY!!!!!
"My friends, let me be clear" Bush may have caused the drop per barrel last week, but that isn't nearly enough to cover the increases we have seen over the past couple of years! Here in Texas prices have only gone down a penny or two! Thanks, George!!
What a bunch of BS... I don't have any more money in my pocket
My objection to lifting the drilling ban is the method by which leases are awarded. Oil is a natural resource owned by all, not just the oil companies.Oil companies should bid on services type cost plus contracts.The winning bidder would be reimbursed costs plus a fee (profit). As there is no risk, they recover all cost plus a fee, there is no justifacation for absurd profits. The contract would require progress on
a reasonable schedule so the bidders could not just sit on a lease as apparently is being done on some leases now. It would not suprise me if new companies would be formed to bid on such a contract, thus
reducing the oil companies monopolistic control of oil in the US. A similar type contract ( or a portion of the previous drilling contract )
could increase refining capacity. This approach is suggested only
as an interim measure while alternate energy sources are developed.