Simply Politics & News

[sarals]

Bush Says Don't Expect Oil Price Breaks

<< what a load of crap >>

By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent
Wed Feb 1, 8:20 PM ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - President Bush defended the huge profits of Exxon Mobil Corp. Wednesday, saying they are simply the result of the marketplace and that consumers socked with soaring energy costs should not expect price breaks.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Bush also addressed oil's future, offering a more ambitious hope than in his State of the Union speech for cutting imports from the volatile Mideast.

However, he said his oft-stated goal of a Palestinian state in the region cannot be realized if a Hamas-led government refuses to renounce its desire to destroy Israel.

Bush, a former Texas oilman, said of oil costs, "I think that basically the price is determined by the marketplace and that's the way it should be."

"I believe in a relatively quick period of time, within my lifetime, we'll be able to reduce if not end dependence on Middle Eastern oil by this new technology" of converting corn, wood, grasses and other products into ethanol, he said.

In his address Tuesday night, Bush had set a goal of reducing the nation's Mideast oil imports by 75 percent by 2025.

With three years left in his second term, Bush declined to say what — if any — role he would take in the selection of a Republican candidate to succeed him in the 2008 presidential race. But he accepted the proposition that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would not be a contender.

"I think you need to take her at her word that she's not running," Bush said in a conversation on Air Force One as he flew to Tennessee for a speech.

"My political focus is on 2006," said Bush, who plans a major campaign role this year in the midterm congressional elections. "To the extent that I am thinking politics, it is to retain the (Republican) leadership of the House and the Senate."

Early this week, Exxon reported record profits of $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter and $36.13 billion for the year — the largest of any U.S. company. While some politicians raised furious objections, Bush had a different reaction.

"There is a marketplace in American society," he said.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060202/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_interview_12;_ylt=AgR._DzuPyZSjFwJ8jDfdnFqP0...