Pitching the promise of energy independence, President Barack Obama cautioned Wednesday that it’s going to be tough to transition from America’s oil-dependent economy and acknowledged there’s little he can do to lower gas prices over the short term.

“I’m just going to be honest with you. There’s not much we can do next week or two weeks from now,” the president told workers at a wind turbine plant. It’s a theme Obama’s struck before as he tries to show voters he’s attuned to a top economic concern with gas prices pushing toward $4 a gallon.

Obama said he wants to move toward “a future where America is less dependent on foreign oil, more reliant on clean energy produced by workers like you.” That will happen by reducing oil imports, tapping domestic energy sources and shifting the nation to renewable and less polluting sources of energy, such as wind, the president says. He has set a goal of reducing oil imports by one-third by 2025. 

But the president said it won’t happen overnight and if any politician says it’s easy, “they’re not telling the truth.”

“Gas prices? They’re going to still fluctuate until we can start making these broader changes, and that’s going to take a couple of years to have serious effect,” Obama said.

Obama needled one questioner who asked about gas prices, now averaging close to $3.70 a gallon nationwide, and suggested that the gentleman consider getting rid of his gas-guzzling vehicle.

“If you’re complaining about the price of gas and you’re only getting 8 miles a gallon, you know,” Obama said laughingly. “You might want to think about a trade-in.”

The president spoke at a town hall meeting at Gamesa Technology Corp., a Spanish company that makes giant turbines that use wind to generate electricity. According to the White House, it is the first overseas company of its kind to set up shop in the U.S.

 For the Rest of this Article:http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Obama-says-little-shortterm-apf-1680912387.html?x=0&.v=4

 Face Forward Comments:Holy freaking cow…… Who does this man think is being hurt by the fuel prices. Oh wait a minute, that’s right, he knows it is the working middle class that is paying the fuel bill right now. And he does not care. Those being least hurt are the public transportation crowd AKA his voters. What arrogance! For a American citizen asking a legitimate question, being needled by the president of the country. Can you imagine what would be said if Bush had said something like that to a voter?

And now finally, I wonder how much of your money, Mr and Mrs American middle class Tax Payer, was given to this Spanish company? It is something you should find out and if you don’t like it, I suggest you vote out the man who gave it to them.

WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) – A Republican budget plan due to be unveiled on Tuesday would cut $5.8 trillion from U.S. spending over the next 10 years, a congressional aide familiar with the proposal said on Monday.

The plan, which would take effect when the next fiscal year starts on Oct. 1, is expected to propose sweeping changes to the Medicare and Medicaid health programs, as well as hard caps on government spending and tax cuts.

Face Forward Comments:
More Please. Even with this huge prposed cut we will add debt. We must make the hard choices now and stop electing people that cannot make them.

 While the economy keeps stumbling along, voters continue to express little confidence in government as the solution.

Just 27% of Likely U.S. Voters now think the government bailouts of banks, auto companies and insurance companies were good for the United States. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 57% regard the bailouts as bad for the country, identical to findings last month. Sixteen percent (16%) are not sure.

The latest numbers are consistent with findings since the first bailout was under discussion in September 2008. Since then, voters have consistently opposed the bailouts for both the financial sector and the auto industry. 

Forty-seven percent (47%) of voters, in fact, still worry that the federal government will do too much in reacting to the nation’s current economic problems. Thirty-nine percent (39%) fear that the government will not do enough. Fourteen percent (14%) are not sure. These findings are in line with voter sentiments since November 2008 just after President Obama’s election and the Wall Street meltdown.  

Two-out-of-three Democrats (66%) fear the government will not do enough in reacting to the country’s current economic troubles. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of Republicans and 52% of voters not affiliated with either major party have the opposite concern, that the government will try to do too much.

 For the rest of the please follow this link:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/federal_bailout/march_2011/only_27_have_positive_view_of_government_bailouts

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices climbed Tuesday as Iran clamped down on anti-government protesters and unrest in the Middle East threatened to keep energy prices high for months to come.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate for April delivery gained $2.66 to settle at $99.63 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude gained $3.62 to settle at $115.42 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

The recent surge in oil has pushed up gasoline prices in the U.S. by nearly 20 cents per gallon in the past week. That’s the sharpest increase since September 2008, when Hurricane Ike shut down Gulf Coast refineries, according to the Oil Price Information Service. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina sent prices soaring about 45 cents per gallon in one week.

 Americans are now paying roughly $75.6 million more per day to fill up than a week ago.

The national average added another penny on Tuesday at $3.375 per gallon. Prices should keep rising to between $3.50 and $3.75 by spring, according to OPIS oil analyst Tom Kloza. He said future increases will be much more gradual, because gasoline markets have mostly priced in the recent rise in crude. “So we should flatten out” in coming weeks, Kloza said.

 Oil prices surged 13 percent last week, peaking above $100 per barrel, as Libyan protesters expanded their control over the country. While the Libyan uprising continued Tuesday, news agencies reported that Iranian authorities imprisoned opposition leaders in Tehran. Iranian authorities denied the reports.

 Pro-reform groups have clashed with the Iranian government. Jailing opposition leaders would be a major escalation of the country’s political crisis. Iran exports about 2.5 million barrels of oil and natural gas liquids per day, about 3 percent of global demand.

For the rest of story please go here:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Oil-prices-climb-as-Iran-apf-1296176780.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=2&asset=&ccode=

 FaceForward Comments:

We need to Drill and to build Nuclear Electricity plants as quickly as possible.