Bush might tap strategic petroleum reserve to help oil industry

He's going to do it to help the oil industry:

The White House said Monday it was willing to use the government's emergency oil stockpile to help refiners hurt by Hurricane Katrina's rampage through the Gulf of Mexico, but that it was too early to decide if or how much crude should be released.

Oh, how times have changed.

You may recall that in fall of 2000, the Bush campaign brutally attacked the Clinton administration for considering doing the same thing in order to lower what were then skyrocketing oil prices in order to help average Americans:

Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush's campaign criticized Gore's proposal, calling it an "election year political ploy" that could threaten national security.

Bush's communications director Karen Hughes told reporters in New York: "That reserve is intended for strategic and national security purposes, not for election year political purposes."

Amazing, but not surprising they can find a way to help the oil industry during a national crisis. And what a convenient way to address the truly skyrocketing oil prices which are damaging Bush and the GOP. Yeah, that's not politics.

UPDATE: AP reports that the oil industry didn't suffer serious damages:

Oil refiners said damage to their equipment in the Gulf region appeared to be minimal, and oil prices dropped back from the day's highs above $70 a barrel. But the refiners were still assessing the damage, and the Bush administration said it would consider releasing oil from the nation's emergency stockpile if necessary.

Let's see how Team Bush handles this.