Posted on 01/16/2008 5:29:46 PM PST by ellery
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Appealing to Saudi Arabia to encourage higher oil production to help lower prices is not in the long-term interest of the United States, Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson said on Wednesday.
The White House said President George W. Bush hopes that as a result of his talks this week with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, OPEC would be encouraged to increase production to help alleviate high oil prices, which have touched $100 a barrel.
Appearing on CNN, Thompson was asked whether, as president, he would turn to Saudi Arabia for help as Bush did.
Thompson, a former Tennessee senator, said the problem was a "little bigger" than Saudi Arabia.
"It's not in the United States' long-term interest to go hat in hand begging people to do things that in the end we know they're not going to do," Thompson said.
"What we need to concentrate on is diversifying our own energy sources here in this country and opening up what oil reserves that we have here ... using nuclear more, using clean coal technology more and all the other things that we can do," Thompson said.
Thompson has finished well behind front-runners Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain and Mitt Romney in the state contests used to choose a Republican nominee for the November 2008 presidential election.
Saudi Arabia is the world's top oil exporter and OPEC's most influential member.
OPEC, which meets in two weeks to set policy, gave a guarded response to Bush's call to raise production.
"I'm sure the ministers of the conference will not be hesitant to increase production if fundamentals justify that," OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri said in Nicosia.
“It’s not in the United States’ long-term interest to go hat in hand begging people to do things that in the end we know they’re not going to do,” Thompson said.
ping!
was the President begging, or maybe involved in some good old fashioned horse trading??
GO FRED BUMP!!!
What Fred said!
It’s either that or beg the Democrats to let us drill our own oil in Anwar and the Gulf of Mexico. But they’re probably more reluctant than the Saudis to cut us a break.
Thank God Fred has the political nerve to say it!
It’s an embarrassment.
Egads....Fred did this to get some media attention, he knows he gets it for criticizing Bush. I personally think his comments are inappropriate. He is saying exactly what Hillary said last night in the debate. Asking OPEC to produce more oil is SOP for all President’s who understand the economy’s dependence on oil.
Now, if Fred had said that McCain was flat out wrong to say he would never drill in ANWR — now that would have been a much more appropriate comment, imho.
I’m a FredHead, but I don’t appreciate him echoing Hillary Clinton, which is exactly what he did.
Fred Thompson and Hillary Clinton produced nearly identical reactions to this. Interesting.
Lobby the American people and they will tell congress what to do.
Everyone but Fred is pushing this Green approach to energy.
We will be sitting under a single CFL bulb with the heat turned off while China brings power plants online weekly if we follow the current crop of politicians.
What a load of crap! Hillary ruled out just nukes, drilling, refinerys etc etc.
Wow, according to Rooters, Fred has been finishing well behind front-runners including Rudy.
Rudy?
Fred is just playing politics, and he knows better than this crap. The Saudis are a strategic partner of our’s, and the best friend we’ve got in OPEC. It’s not so much a case of friends, as it is a case of you scratch my back and I’ll scratch your’s. And both sides do.
GO FRED GO!
Just because he criticized Bush doesn’t mean he is mimicking Hillary.
Hillary offered no common sense solutions.
2ND AMENDMENT ADVOCATE (“Individual” rights to protect their homes and property!)
INCREASE THE MILITARY’S STRENGTH AND SIZE (Can you imagine what Hillary Clinton would do to our beloved Military? Can you imagine those brave young men and women who would have to salute this woman?)
SECURE AND SEAL THE BORDERS (Don’t give sanctuary anywhere to illegal’s; don’t employ illegal’s; don’t rent to illegal’s; don’t extend credit to illegal’s; don’t give illegal’s rights they have no right to; report all crimes committed by illegal’s to ICE and immediately deport those illegal’s who have already committed crimes against America!) LAW AND ORDER (Enforcement of our current laws regarding illegal immigration!) – DENY FEDERAL DOLLARS TO SANCTUARY CITIES (Enough is enough!)
CONSERVATIVE JUSTICES FOR SUPREMES (Great progress has been made on the Supreme Court in Bush’s term. FRED was asked by President Bush to spirit Justice Roberts through the confirmation process. The next President will probably have the opportunity to seat two additional Justices. This is huge folks. FRED will nominate Justices who will interpret the Constitution, not create rights that simply do not exist and legislate from the bench!) – PRO-LIFE ADVOCATE (will strive to nominate superior Justices with the eventual goal of overturning Roe vs Wade)
WINNER OF SOUTH CAROLINA JANUARY 10, 2008 DEBATE – HANDS DOWN!!! (In lieu of the airtime FoxNews chose to give him…or not give him as the case may be. WE THE PEOPLE notice garbage like that!)
IT’S NOT TOO LATE FOR SOUTH CAROLINA! IT’S NOT TOO LATE FOR FLORIDA! IT’S NOT TOO LATE FOR NEVADA!
WHERE THE HELL ARE THE REAGAN CONSERVATIVES? GET YOUR LAZY BUTTS OFF THE COUCH AND GET THE POLLS IN SOUTH CAROLINA AND VOTE FOR THE ONLY REAGAN CONSERVATIVE IN THIS CONTEST! FRED THOMPSON IS HUMAN EVENT’S CHOICE TO CARRY THE BANNER FOR REAGAN CONSERVATISM! A CONSERVATIVE THOMPSON REVOLUTION! PLEASE STOP BY FRED08.COM AND STUDY HIS WHITE PAPERS ON ALL THE MAJOR ISSUES! DON’T LET THE MEDIA MAKE THIS CHOICE FOR US.
Don’t be silly. Fred recommends developing our own resources, and takes a sensible approach: clean coal, nuclear, and more domestic drilling.
Hillary babbles about ethanol and the environment and clean “alternate” energy sources that will do absolutely nothing to improve the situation.
That is hardly a similar response.
I want Fred to come out load and clear for Drilling in ANWR.
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