Clinton's oil release decision inappropriate

Friday, President Bill Clinton approved the release of 30 million barrels of oil from the nation's 570-million barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserve. His move was encouraged and heralded by Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore, who said the release would helpstruggling American families through this "national crisis," according to Newsweek.\nThirty million barrels of oil might seem like a lot. It might seem like just what America needs to increase the oil supply and lower gas prices. But this nation uses 19 million barrels of oil each and every day. Clinton's oil release won't last even two days, not long enough to affect prices or the economy. But it might have an effect on the presidential race, as Clinton and Gore might be perceived as taking action in a time of crisis.\n But this isn't a time of crisis. It isn't even close. It's true that barrels of oil reached $37 last week, a 10-year high according to Newsweek. But Americans have the least expensive gas, with the lowest taxes, of any nation in the world. \nAnd when dollar amounts are adjusted for inflation, we're paying a full dollar less for gas than during the 1981 oil crisis. Higher prices now are a result of supply and demand economics, but the costs certainly don't reach the level of a national emergency.\nGov. George W. Bush was quick to condemn Clinton and Gore for the oil release, saying it threatened national security. The reserves are meant for times of war, he said. Indeed, the Reserve had been tapped only once since its 1973-74 creation -- in 1991 during the Persian Gulf War. Bush asserted that giving out the oil in peacetime means we'll have less when we really need it, and he's right.\nThe dispute over Clinton's decision has further implications, too; it shows how Gore has flip-flopped on this issue to garner votes. During the primaries, Sen. Bill Bradley, vying for the party nomination, challenged Gore to encourage Clinton to release oil from the Reserve. Gore refused, saying other tactics to lower prices, such as pressuring OPEC for higher production, would be better. Now, he's saying the opposite, claiming he is fighting for American families against Big Oil.\nClinton's decision and Gore's support for it constitute a pandering for votes, and that is unacceptable. The nation's emergency resources should never be squandered for the sake of an election. Clinton and Gore should reexamine their priorities and remember the security of this nation should come before any one man's candidacy for high office.