PORTLAND, Ore. – Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry said Tuesday that drivers are paying a “Saudi-George Bush gasoline tax” because the president hasn’t pressured oil-producing nations to increase their output.
“What about the Saudi-George Bush gasoline tax that we’re now paying because OPEC wasn’t pressured to lower the prices by producing more?” Kerry asked, standing in front of school buses at the Parkrose School District depot. “They could’ve produced more before now. And America’s paying an enormous penalty as a result of that, and all of our economy gets hurt as a result of that.”
Kerry’s visit to Portland was his second in two weeks. He flew to Seattle later Tuesday night. He planned to speak at 9:45 a.m. today at Pier 62 at the Port of Seattle, and attend a reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at The Westin Hotel, 1900 Fifth Ave. After a private function Thursday morning, Kerry plans to leave from Boeing Field.
Kerry also said he has “a level of trust” with world leaders that would allow him to repair relationships he says President Bush has damaged with his foreign policy.
“I believe it will take a new president of the United States to clear the air, to re-establish American credibility in the world and to be able to reach out to leaders, not just in the Middle East, but all over the world,” the Massachusetts senator said. “Now, I think that what you want to acknowledge or how you approach it is a matter of private diplomacy.”
Kerry, noting his nearly 20 years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he has met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Abdullah and Jordan’s King Abdullah II, among others in the Mideast.
“I have a relationship that I believe if I were president, I could sit down with them with a level of trust that would allow us to begin an entirely new dialogue,” he said.
Kerry opposes Bush’s energy bill in part because he does not support drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. While Bush wants to tap domestic sources of oil, Kerry wants to temporarily divert oil being used to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and bring it to market to help reduce prices. He says his administration would demand that other oil-producing nations increase supply.
A student at Kerry’s campaign stop asked whether the United States might reinstate the military draft because of soldier shortages in Iraq. Kerry said his foreign policy would make it unnecessary to have a draft, and accused Bush of having a “clandestine draft” that has turned the National Guard and reserves into “almost active duty.”
Separately Tuesday, Kerry named Arizona Rep. Ed Pastor co-chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Pastor will work with Chairman Terry McAuliffe and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones to spread Kerry’s campaign message.
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