News What can Bush do to gain back favor?

[outsider]

This is an opinion thread, so it doesn't matter where you lean or if you lean at all... what is your suggestion to Junior?

I want to stop thrashing his azz for a while... so let's forget about the past mistakes and give feedback and guidance: "what can bushy do now?"

I hope not to get the obvious suggestions such as "kill himself, or step down from office", or anything like that... i don't want to say that you are not entitled to that opinion, but those are just not very likely to happen.

So, here's my first suggestion for you to attack:
1) Open discussions with the United Nations to get their opinion on what America should do to gain the world's trust back and end the war.

Since his attention is diverted from Iraq, the odds of having a clearcut victory will diminish. He needs to focus his energy at home or he may lose both fronts.

Analogy: if you are financially viable and your children are sick, you should not be going to work until they are recovering. If you love your kids, you will not be able to work with a clear mind anyway. If you do not take care of your children, your children will not take care of you.

So, what do you propose?

 

[DM]

"what can bushy do now?"

Resign or otherwise exacerbate his position.

 

[vanesch]

I hope not to get the obvious suggestions such as "kill himself, or step down from office", or anything like that...

Damn.

 

[Anttech]

Stop ending every speech he does with Religious connotations
Learn how to speak properly
Stop lying
Admit he was wrong to go into Iraq
And finally Resign, after getting on all fours and pleading to the world for forgiveness

:-)

 

[Art]

Internationally he is beyond redemption. No matter what he says and does now nobody will ever trust him.

 

[BobG]

So, here's my first suggestion for you to attack:
1) Open discussions with the United Nations to get their opinion on what America should do to gain the world's trust back and end the war.

Have you checked on the UN reforms to be discussed this fall? Your suggestion appears about as likely as Bush stepping down.

I'd read an article a couple of weeks ago that had a little more detail on changes the US had in mind than this one, but I can't find it right off the bat. Bush picked a very contentious person for the UN because he plans to take a very contentious position.

If you believe in what Bush is trying to accomplish, then the only suggestion is to do it better. Even if you don't believe in what Bush is trying to accomplish, it's bad to see him do it so badly that the country is hurt. One key to doing things better would be to listen to people in the know, even if their advice doesn't quite match what Bush wants to hear.

Invading Iraq invites all kinds of problems, just because of the lack of unity within the country. Still, things didn't have to go this badly. Rumsfeld was so committed to the faster, leaner military that the Bush administration discarded advice from military leaders, figuring they were just dinosaurs stuck in the past. Reforming the military in peace time is a great idea, but when it comes time to fight, he should listen to the guys that are going to be doing the fighting for him.

It's one thing to search for supporting evidence to feed the public, hoping to generate support for his policies. He should at least prevent himself and his staff from being duped by the same garbage he's feeding the public.

 

[Art]

It's ironic that the US started the UN and now because it no longer serves them it is hell bent on destroying it. Perhaps the other UN members should band together and expel the US and reform without them; though obviously not ideal it is better than simply maintaining the status quo whereby the UN is toothless and impotent in international affairs unless the US gives them permission to get involved.

 

[pattylou]

2. Fire Rove
3. Admit Iraq was a mistake
4. Suggest a pro choice candidate for O'connor's spot


There are tons more. I am glad he acknowledged a failure on the NO situation. I am surprised he acknowledged a failure. I don't believe he's ever done that before. It's a step in the right direction.

I am asking that he be human and compassionate, and connect with real, breathing people, rather than take a cowboy "my way or the highway" attitude.

 

[pattylou]

Here are a few more. You'd think he could do a *few* of these anyway:

5. Get the back-door army recruitment loophole out of No Child Left Behind
6. Support tax breaks for fuel-efficient vehicles, not hummers
7. Stop using 9/11 as a justification for everything, or at least stop putting it in every speech
8. Recognize that ID is not science and has no place in science.

I'm sure more will come to me. He hasn't been able to do a single thing (besides admitting that NO was a disaster) that I have approved of.

 

[pattylou]

9. Acknowledge that "Culture of life" does not mean killing Iraqis on bad intelligence
10. Appoint scientists rather than oil men to science advisory positions

 

[SOS2008]

Aside from pattylou's list, which I agree with (the last one above would mean acknowledgment of global warming), I also found it interesting when previous presidents Clinton and Bush Sr. helped raise funds for the Tsunami. I was pleased to see Dubya involve others for the first time like that, and from both sides of the aisle. They are doing a repeat to raise funds for NO.

I suggest he does more of that, which is what I've suggested regarding damaged foreign relations. Instead of sending Bolton to the UN to continue a belligerent policy, he should be assembling a team of fence menders, and from both sides of the aisle. Unfortunately, this is where his neocon God complex is not likely to change. We can only hope he won't invade any other countries before we can replace him.

And most of all the spending like it's the end of the world (since he probably believes it is, or perhaps will make it so) has to stop. After the cronyism of the energy bill and pork in the highway bill--especially in view of what we spend each day on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq--there must be better effort toward a balanced budget. Of course we need to maintain our infrastructure, but I had really hoped he would veto the highway bill as he said he would and force congress back to the drawing board.

Bush needs to show real leadership, and if he can't than he needs to humble himself and involve others who can help get the job done.

 

[devil-fire]

i think as someone who is not american, it would be nice to see a little more of a humanitarian forign policy. there are a couple problems in africa and south america that could benifit from american clout. not a huge operation like iraq or afghanistan of course, but stuff like monitoring democratic elections for foul play. not an intervention but sending some help where its needed. i know there already is a lot of support in these areas but its not 'news' because its not new.

do a bunch of small humanitarian aid stuff that takes some planing and not just throwing a few tons of non-perishable food around, since that doesn't make news anymore. make it look like he's not spending a lot of resources to do the stuff but he's putting it where it counts.

 

[DaveC426913]

What does he have to do to gain back favor? Belch.

Having seen him voted him back for a second time, it's clear that Americans are only too glad to have him at the helm of their handbasket. He could eat babies and they'd forgive him.

 

[Skyhunter]

Talk about impossible tasks.

I guess he could start by assuming some responsibility for his administration. He only admitted there was a failure in response to the NO disaster because the effort to spin it failed. He still has not assumed responsibility, instead he will investigate and then mete out blame.

I don't think there is anything he can do. But give Rove time to massage the message, and they may be able to recover his approval back close to 50%.

Anything short of replacing his entire administration would not satisfy me but I don't see him doing anything but 'staying the course'.

Has anyone seen the leaked memo from Chertoff to Mike Brown telling him to dispatch public relations people to New Orleans to portray the agency in a positive light?

I heard about it but have not seen it. If anyone does please share with the rest of us.

 

[TRCSF]

Resign and plead guilty.

 

[pattylou]

He only admitted there was a failure in response to the NO disaster because the effort to spin it failed.

Have you got a reference for this? I don't recall any "spin" effort until after his personal visit, which was when he admitted it was a mess.

 

[edward]

He can use the same Karl Rove propaganda tactics and dirty tricks that he used to gain favor in the first place.

He doesn't care if he has the favor of any country except England, so he won't even try there.

He will influence the United nations by allowing Bolton to intimidate UN delegates into thinking that they might lose their jobs. (watch out for this one, delegates who don't cooperate with Bolton will be disappearing from the UN.)

And lastly HE, is Dick Cheney, big oil, and corporate greed. Bush is only the spokesperson.

 

[TRCSF]

Have you got a reference for this? I don't recall any "spin" effort until after his personal visit, which was when he admitted it was a mess.

Are you kidding? For days he was saying what a wonderful job everybody was doing. He said Brownie was doing a wonderful job, after he muttered a few times about it being unacceptable.

Hell, he was still saying that nobody could have expected the levees to breach, and that was thursday.

 

[faust9]

Ya'll are taking a pie-in-the-sky approach to getting Bush into America's good graces. All he needs to do is photo-op after photo-op proclaiming how sucessful "brownie" is---American's love nicknames---and trow in the occasional democracy-iraq-terrorism jib. Bush doesn't need to change, the media does. The media has to stop giving this guy good press for screwing up.

 

[pattylou]

He said Brownie was doing a wonderful job, after he muttered a few times about it being unacceptable.

Right. I think Skyhunter has the sequence of events wrong.

My perception is that he ignored it initially. For anyone to suggest that there was an intentional spin on Tuesday, Wednesday -- Muddies what the sequence of events actually was.

They're spinning it *now.* They didn't spin it *before* he said it was a mess.

Agreed?

 

[TRCSF]

Right. I think Skyhunter has the sequence of events wrong.

My perception is that he ignored it initially. For anyone to suggest that there was an intentional spin on Tuesday, Wednesday -- Muddies what the sequence of events actually was.

They're spinning it *now.* They didn't spin it *before* he said it was a mess.

Agreed?

I'm going to disagree a bit. Before they were spinning it after they admitted it was a mess, they were spinning it as a success, even when it was clear that it wasn't.

As people were dying from dehydration in the superdome, Bush and the feds were saying it was all a wonderful success.

As Mayor Nagin was cussing out the feds on live TV, they were still saying they were doing a wonderful job.

So during and immediately after the hurricane, they were spinning and saying they were doing a wonderful job. (One overconfident guy came out and saying it would be a wonderful advantage for the GOP, I'll see if I can dig that up.)

Only after it became apparent to everybody that they weren't doing anything, only after that did they make a few platitudes. Oh, it's "unacceptable." Gee, you think?

Even after these minor admissions of failure, they were still going on how wonderful it was.

And now they're saying it's too early to "play the blame game" while pointing fingers at local authorities.

They've been spinning since the hurricane hit.

 

[pattylou]

(One overconfident guy came out and saying it would be a wonderful advantage for the GOP, I'll see if I can dig that up.).

Yeah, I'm asking for a reference like that, or any reference that they spun it beforehand.

 

[Skyhunter]

Have you got a reference for this? I don't recall any "spin" effort until after his personal visit, which was when he admitted it was a mess.

I was referring to all the press conferences where they kept saying everything was going smoothly when the pictures and reports from the area were portraying the exact opposite.

 

[pattylou]

Again, Skyhunter, I didn't see these.

Any specific references, or is this from your memory?

(A specific reference would be a link to a transcript of a press conference, for example. )

 

[Skyhunter]

Again, Skyhunter, I didn't see these.

Any specific references, or is this from your memory?

(A specific reference would be a link to a transcript of a press conference, for example. )

It is from memory I will find references.

From Sept 1, 2005

Question: Do you think that FEMA should have had buses available for the evacuation at the time the evacuation order was first declared? And secondly, obviously here and now in retrospect, but did DHS and FEMA under estimate this and not have sufficient resources on the ground?

Secretary Chertoff: Actually, I think there was an extraordinary effort to put resources on the ground and pre-position them. As I said, the President declared states of emergency before the hurricane made landfall. So that enabled us not only to put large quantities of water and food and tarpaulins and generators in place, but it also allowed us to actually start flowing that out in advance. But then there comes a point where you're in the storm. And this has been a unique disaster in that we really had two disasters one after the other. We had the storm, but then before we could come in and begin the rescue effort and the evacuation effort and the effort to address people's needs, we had a second catastrophe. That was the levee breaking and the flood coming in.

http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=4779

 

[outsider]

I'm going to disagree a bit. Before they were spinning it after they admitted it was a mess, they were spinning it as a success, even when it was clear that it wasn't.

As people were dying from dehydration in the superdome, Bush and the feds were saying it was all a wonderful success.

As Mayor Nagin was cussing out the feds on live TV, they were still saying they were doing a wonderful job.

So during and immediately after the hurricane, they were spinning and saying they were doing a wonderful job. (One overconfident guy came out and saying it would be a wonderful advantage for the GOP, I'll see if I can dig that up.)

Only after it became apparent to everybody that they weren't doing anything, only after that did they make a few platitudes. Oh, it's "unacceptable." Gee, you think?

Even after these minor admissions of failure, they were still going on how wonderful it was.

And now they're saying it's too early to "play the blame game" while pointing fingers at local authorities.

They've been spinning since the hurricane hit.

Yes, I kinda noticed that too... it really pisses me off, but I'm trying to look on the bright side that at least there has been some acknowledgment of failure. I believe some of the media also are glad that there is work being done rather than not, so they didn't want to distract Junior from the task at hand. Fair comments all around... and some good suggestions... keep them coming.

 

[outsider]

Have you checked on the UN reforms to be discussed this fall? Your suggestion appears about as likely as Bush stepping down.

Thank you for the link. After reading this, it appears you may be right. So much for my suggestion... I guess that's it... it's really hopeless he's really making a mess of it all... as Skyhunter said he's 'staying the course'.

 

[SOS2008]

Rhetoric Not Matching in Relief
Associated Press - Sept 2, 2005

WASHINGTON - The Iraqi insurgency is in its last throes. The economy is booming. Anybody who leaks a CIA agent's identity will be fired. Add another piece of White House rhetoric that doesn't match the public's view of reality: Help is on the way, Gulf Coast.

As New Orleans descended into anarchy, top Bush administration officials congratulated each other for jobs well done and spoke of water, food and troops pouring into the ravaged city. Television pictures told a different story.

...To some critics, President Bush seemed to deny the existence of problems with hurricane relief this week. He waited until Friday to acknowledged that "the results are not acceptable," and even then the president parsed his words.

Bush got himself in trouble by trying to put the best face on a horrible situation. The strategy is so common in Washington that operatives have a name for it, "spin," and the Bush White House has perfected the shady art.

...This is what the president had to say about the relief effort earlier in the week:

_"There's a lot of food on its way, a lot of water on the way, and there's a lot of boats and choppers headed that way."

_"Thousands have been rescued. There's thousands more to be rescued. And there's a lot of people focusing their efforts on that."

_"As we speak, people are moving into New Orleans area to maintain law and order."

Technically, the president may have been right. Help was on the way, if not fast enough to handle one of the largest emergency response efforts in U.S. history. But the words were jarring to Americans who saw images of looters, abandoned corpses and angry, desperate storm victims.

...It was worse when he was wrong. In one interview, Bush said, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." In fact, many experts predicted a major storm would bust New Orleans' flood-control barriers.

One reason the public relations effort backfired on Bush is that Americans have seen it before.

On Iraq alone, the rhetoric has repeatedly fallen far short of reality. Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction. The mission wasn't accomplished in May 2003. Most allies avoided the hard work of his "coalition of the willing." And dozens of U.S. soldiers have died since Vice President Dick Cheney declared that insurgents were in their "last throes."

Bush often touts the health of the U.S. economy, which is fair game because many indicators point in that direction. But the public doesn't share his rosy view. The global economy had most Americans worried about job and pension security even before rising gas added to their anxieties.

Bush's spokesman said anybody involved in leaking the identity of a CIA agent would be fired, but no action has been taken against officials accused of doing so.

The president himself promised to fully pay for his school reform plan and strip pork-barrel spending from a major highway bill. The school money fell short. The pork thrived.

The list goes on.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050902/ap_on_go_pr_wh/katrina_happy_talk

 

[vanesch]

i think as someone who is not american, it would be nice to see a little more of a humanitarian forign policy. there are a couple problems in africa and south america that could benifit from american clout. not a huge operation like iraq or afghanistan of course, but stuff like monitoring democratic elections for foul play. not an intervention but sending some help where its needed. i know there already is a lot of support in these areas but its not 'news' because its not new.

Whoop whoop ! Bad idea ! It would be nice to see the Americans mind their own business until they're asked somewhere to do something, we've had enough "initiatives" ! Especially "monitoring democratic elections for foul play" hahaha !

 

[2CentsWorth]

On the Daily Show last night it was said that the federal government could only intervene in state affairs if New Orleans was in a vegetative state. Jon Stewart went on to point out that those who don't want to play the blame game don't want to play because they are to blame. Hmm... Oh and DeLay--what a piece of work he is to suggest what he thinks are the moral things to do. The joke was his mouth burst into flames. Well at least he might be struck by lightening.

Seriously, regardless of who is at fault for poor response to Katrina, it is well documented that Bush is responsible for cutting programs and deploying resources to Iraq before Katrina even hit, and Bush & Co. know it.

In the meantime gas prices continue to anger Americans. Americans have short memories, but 2006 is not too long off. And if Bush sticks to his MO, and my guess he will, recovery in his approval ratings will be all the more unlikely right up to 2008.

 

[Astronuc]

So rather than a great statesman, Bush will be remembered for Iraq (a very costly war that was poorly planned), Katrina (a natural disaster for which his administration was unprepared) and high fuel prices (unanticipated because the economy was doing so well - and then ).

What else can go wrong in the next 3 years?

 

[vanesch]

What else can go wrong in the next 3 years?

Bush killed by Iranian terrorists ; you'd have Cheney as president

 

[edward]

I remember at one time in 2004 Bush said the following on meet the press:

I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign-policy matters with war on my mind.

To use a Bush expression: "That dog won't hunt" this time around. Rove hopefully will have some sleepless nights.

We will need another round of tax cuts for the wealthy to pay for the New Orleans disaster.

 

[SOS2008]

Bush killed by Iranian terrorists ; you'd have Cheney as president

No, no! (Unless he died immediately of a heart attack afterwards.)

I remember at one time in 2004 Bush said the following on meet the press:

I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign-policy matters with war on my mind.

Yeh, we know...he thinks about it every day.

So...you unnecessarily start a war with lies, and voila you can refer to yourself as a war president. How convenient. Do people fall for this stuff (other than the media)? I'll bet Dubya flexes in front of the mirror too--he's a little full of himself isn't he? Sincere humility would really help, but he is completely incapable of it!

 

[2CentsWorth]

Though as usual the Bush administration is a day late and a dollar short, for the first time an inept crony is being...asked to step down! Good job Brownie! We'll find another position for ya, don't worry.

 

[Skyhunter]

Though as usual the Bush administration is a day late and a dollar short, for the first time an inept crony is being...asked to step down! Good job Brownie! We'll find another position for ya, don't worry.

I think the way Chertoff spun it was he is going back to washington to prepare for the next disaster. (Since he did such a fine job with Katrina. )

The first quetion was for 'Brownie', the reporter asked if this was the first step in his resignation. Chertoff said "Here are the ground rules...I'll answer all questions. They won't even let him talk anymore.

[edit] Of course Chertof didn't answer the question.

 

[2CentsWorth]

I think the way Chertoff spun it was he is going back to washington to prepare for the next disaster. (Since he did such a fine job with Katrina. )

The first quetion was for 'Brownie', the reporter asked if this was the first step in his resignation. Chertoff said "Here are the ground rules...I'll answer all questions. They won't even let him talk anymore.

[edit] Of course Chertof didn't answer the question.

That's why I posted about Brownie here. Bush can't even fire someone when the majority of the nation is calling for him to do so. As I say in the thread about Brown, Bush won't do that because it would mean admitting a mistake. He hasn't learned a damn thing.

 

[Astronuc]

President's Approval Rating Dips Below 40 Percent
Nearly Two-Thirds Say Country Is Headed in Wrong Direction
By WILL LESTER, AP

WASHINGTON (Sept. 10, AP) -

President Bush's job approval has dipped below 40 percent for the first time in the AP-Ipsos poll, reflecting widespread doubts about his handling of gasoline prices and the response to Hurricane Katrina.

Nearly four years after Bush's job approval soared into the 80s after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Bush was at 39 percent job approval in an AP-Ipsos poll taken this week. That's the lowest since the the poll was started in December 2003.

The public's view of the nation's direction has grown increasingly negative as well, with nearly two-thirds now saying the country is heading down the wrong track.

"As a nation, we are pretty well stretched," said Barry Allen, a political independent from Reed City, Mich. "I approve of some of the things the president has done, and disapprove of others. Overall, I disapprove."

Allen said he liked some of Bush's economic steps during his first term but has been dissatisfied with the president's economic moves in his second term, his Iraq policy and his handling of gasoline prices.

Allen worries Hurricane Katrina has taken the wind out of an economy that was moving in the right direction.

With gasoline racing past $3 a gallon, Bush's standing on dealing with those prices may be one of his biggest problems - seven in 10 said they disapprove.

And just over half in the poll, 52 percent, said they disapprove of the president's handling of the hurricane.

For Bill Kane of Kingsland, Ga., the government's slow response to the hurricane "was terrifying to see in our own country. It made you mad, because it made you think where's our money going?"

More evidence of problems with the storm response surfaced Friday when the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced it would discontinue a 2-day-old program to issue debit cards worth to displaced families.

 

[Tarheel]

I don't think Bush can do anything to "win back" favor from me, However I would like to see him actually WORK for the remainder of his time in office.

How can the "Leader" of a nation at war take more vacation time than any other President in history?

"Sorry 'bought yer son dyin in Iraq, Now if you'll 'scuse me I got a Margherita waitin down by tha Lakeside Gazebo"

 

[Skyhunter]

I don't think Bush can do anything to "win back" favor from me, However I would like to see him actually WORK for the remainder of his time in office.

How can the "Leader" of a nation at war take more vacation time than any other President in history?

"Sorry 'bought yer son dyin in Iraq, Now if you'll 'scuse me I got a Margherita waitin down by tha Lakeside Gazebo"

Hopefully his term will be cut short in 2007 by an impeachment!

He hasn't taken more vacation time than any president in history, but he is close.

Vacationing Bush Poised to Set a Record
With Long Sojourn at Ranch, President on His Way to Surpassing Reagan's Total

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/02/AR2005080201703.html

 

[Archon]

Hopefully his term will be cut short in 2007 by an impeachment!

2007? Why wait until 2007? We should impeach him retroactively.

 

[Smurf]

What happens if Bush DOES get impeached? Does that mean Cheney takes over?

 

[Archon]

What happens if Bush DOES get impeached? Does that mean Cheney takes over?

Damn. Err...impeach them all!

 

[Smurf]

Yup. See, in most democracies when the government falls a new election is called.

 

[Entropy]

Bush should invent a time machine so he can go back in time and kill himself before he became president. But, then he wouldn't live to go back in time and kill himself... But that would mean he would live to become president then he would be able to go back in time and kill himself before he became president! But then if he did go back in time and kill himself he wouldn't have became president but then if... ARGH! I made my brain hurt.

 

[SOS2008]

Yup. See, in most democracies when the government falls a new election is called.

Far too logical, but not likely. Here's another possible scenario:

The Peoples Temple in Guyana at a site called Jonestown -- Eventually Jones began to claim divinity. Paranoia and complete control became his personality once he obtained his close-knit group. Though emphasis had been on religious ideas, particularly those of mainstream Christianity, in the last years this became more political in nature. In 1978, 913 people committed “altruistic suicide,” which Jones saw as a revolutionary act.

Let's start mixin' the Kool-Aid.

 

[Archon]

Bush should invent a time machine so he can go back in time and kill himself before he became president. But, then he wouldn't live to go back in time and kill himself... But that would mean he would live to become president then he would be able to go back in time and kill himself before he became president! But then if he did go back in time and kill himself he wouldn't have became president but then if... ARGH! I made my brain hurt.

This is a logical impossibilty because it would require Bush to invent something.

 

[outsider]

That's why I posted about Brownie here. Bush can't even fire someone when the majority of the nation is calling for him to do so. As I say in the thread about Brown, Bush won't do that because it would mean admitting a mistake. He hasn't learned a damn thing.

I guess this thread is a lost cause... he really is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. His work ethic is in question along with his integrity. I posted this thread to see if what people would suggest for GWB to do, but it seems like all the suggestions range from already attempted and unsuccessful, to not while he's alive.

Then there's the option of impeachment, and Dick stands next in line. You really got give this Administration some credit. Some really good chess being played. You kill my rook, I take your queen.

 

[2CentsWorth]

There are those who have never supported him, and never will. Then there are those who supported him in the aftermath of 9-11, but chain of events (Terri Schiavo, Downing Street Memo, Plame leak, Katrina) have turned them off. Then there are those who always supported him, and no matter what mistakes he makes, will always support him. The only difference that can be made is with the so called swing voters. Social Security or permanent tax cuts aren't going to do it. Maybe incredible progress in Iraq, or a sudden boom in the economy, like gas dropping to 5 cents/gal.

 

[Archon]

There are those who have never supported him, and never will. Then there are those who supported him in the aftermath of 9-11, but chain of events (Terri Schiavo, Downing Street Memo, Plame leak, Katrina) have turned them off. Then there are those who always supported him, and no matter what mistakes he makes, will always support him. The only difference that can be made is with the so called swing voters. Social Security or permanent tax cuts aren't going to do it. Maybe incredible progress in Iraq, or a sudden boom in the economy, like gas dropping to 5 cents/gal.

What if gas in Iraq drops to 5 cents per gallon. Would that work? It would almost be like killing two birds with one stone.