More Phony Excuses

Georgie is in trouble again with the voters. The Rethuglicans are getting more and more nervous everyday. Trying to fight his image of a man engaged in an intimate affair with the oil industry, Bush is hitting the road to pump up his 'common man' image by showing his 'commitment' to alternative forms of energy. Oh – and in a two for one shot, he's also trying to be seen as being 'environmentally friendly'. Why - how could anyone question his integrity and commitment?

President Bush, on a three-state trip to promote his energy policy, said Tuesday that a budgeting mix-up was the reason 32 workers at one of the nation's premier renewable energy labs were laid off and then reinstated just before his visit. "Sometimes, decisions made as the result of the appropriations process, the money may not end up where it was supposed to have gone," Bush said. "My message to those who work here is we want you to know how important your work is."

Two weeks ago, the lab workers, including eight researchers, were laid off at the lab because of a $28 million budget shortfall. Then, over the weekend, at the direction of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, $5 million was transferred back to the lab to get the workers back on the job.

Gee, could that reversal have had anything to do politics? Could Georgie have been caught with his pants down, failing to pass another switcheroo over on the public? Certainly looks that way.

Critics say Bush's proposals are modest, and that the president is promoting renewable energy because polls show his job approval numbers are being weighed down by American's concern about high utility bills and the price of gasoline.

"As the premier renewable energy lab, it makes no sense to begin an effort to achieve America's energy independence with cuts to the lab that will likely lead the way," said Drew Nannis, a spokesman for Sen. Ken Salazar D-Colo.

"This is a series of photo-ops entirely driven by polls that tell the president that he isn't doing enough on energy," said Philip Clapp, president of the National Environmental Trust. "The president is talking a good game, but his budget doesn't back it up."

Posted on The Human Stain