Bush blames Clinton energy policy for soaring fuel costs

By Jeremy W. Peters

Daily Staff Reporter

NORMAN NG/Daily

Texas Gov. George W. Bush talks to workers about his plans to revise the nation's energy policy at Wright-K Technology Inc. in Saginaw on Friday.

SAGINAW - In a state where oil prices significantly impact the economy, George W. Bush spent his visit to Michigan on Friday discussing plans to revamp the nation's energy policy.

"Affordable energy is vital to Michigan's great economy with its automobile manufacturing base," the Texas governor told workers at an auto parts factory in Saginaw.

Bush was quick to draw a connection between the rising cost of oil and what he said was the Clinton administration's lack of a comprehensive energy policy.

"Today America has no energy policy," he said. "The energy secretary ... admitted that the Clinton-Gore administration was 'caught napping' - his words - when fuel prices rose. And it took an election to wake them up."

Bush said he hopes his energy policy will strike a chord with Michigan voters. Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics, said yesterday that Michigan voters definitely have oil prices on their minds.

"It's important because of the automobile industry, because of gas prices. There's been a lot of concern about the rising cost of operating automobiles," Ballenger said.

Michigan is one of the most closely contested states in the race to the White House, with both Bush and Vice President Al Gore fiercely contesting its 18 electoral votes.

In his speech, Bush jumped at the chance to question Gore's credibility with regard to the

vice president's statements about the auto industry.

"In speeches he calls auto workers his friends. In his book he declares the engines they make are the enemy," Bush said, referring to a statement in Gore's book "Earth in the Balance" that the internal combustion engine is harmful to the environment.

Democrats don't see it that way.

"One of the reasons auto workers and their families ... overwhelmingly support Al Gore is because they know George Bush and his massive tax cut for the wealthy will take us back to trickle-down economics," said Chad Clanton, spokesman for the Michigan Democratic Party. "They remember the recession of the 1980's and how trickle down economics put the auto industry on its back."

The crux of the Bush plan is decreasing U.S. dependency on foreign oil by such measures as drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - a proposal that has many in the Gore campaign crying foul.

"We think it's reckless for Governor Bush to support drilling in one of America's most precious natural resources. Especially when we remember the Exxon-Valdez," Clanton said.

"Take one look at Bush's record in Texas and you'll see he's basically unleashed big oil and big polluters and said, 'This land is your land.'"

Nonetheless, Bush and his advisers assert their policy will have minimal environmental impact.

"The key is you want to do it in a way that is not harmful. It is possible to drill and leave, as he said, 'nothing but footprints behind,'" said Larry Lindsey, Bush's chief economic adviser and a former governor of the Federal Reserve Board.

"The main thing is to make sure sound environmental procedures are followed and we do that," Lindsey said.

Other facets to the Bush energy policy include the dedication of $1.2 billion to researching alternative energy sources, providing $1 billion over the next decade to assist low-income households with their energy bills and requiring the Department of Energy to notify Congress when oil stocks are low.

The Texas governor attacked Gore for advocating the release of 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves to help curb the rising cost of fuel.

"The Strategic Reserve is meant for a foreign war or major disruption in supply, not for national elections. It is a petroleum reserve, not a political reserve," Bush said.

But some voters may see Gore's proposal to tap the nation's reserves as a quick solution to high prices at the pump rather than a political ploy.

"Some of the people who follow public policy ... may think that Gore is pandering. But the rank-and-file voters just care about the bottom line. How cheap is gas? How much will it cost to heat my home?" Ballenger said.