Never Mind

Just kidding. "If Bush says something in a speech, it's because they think it will sound good in a speech, period." Knight-Ridder (02.01.06):

"One day after President Bush vowed to reduce America's dependence on Middle East oil by cutting imports from there 75 percent by 2025, his energy secretary and national economic adviser said Wednesday that the president didn't mean it literally."

Administration backs off Bush's vow to reduce Mideast oil imports

"'This was purely an example," Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said."

These guys are something else. "The president's State of the Union reference to Mideast oil made headlines nationwide Wednesday because of his assertion that 'America is addicted to oil' and his call to 'break this addiction.'"

He also "pledged to 'move beyond a petroleum-based economy and make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past.'"

It was a crock. Pure PR.

"Asked why the president used the words 'the Middle East' when he didn't really mean them, one administration official said Bush wanted to dramatize the issue in a way that 'every American sitting out there listening to the speech understands.'"

And by the way, our administration official "spoke only on condition of anonymity because he feared that his remarks might get him in trouble."