Tapping the SPR

AP reported yesterday that W was leaning toward releasing some supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to make up for production losses from Katrina. This will probably make up his mind for him.

Spiraling gas prices and continuing bloodshed in Iraq continue to take their toll on President Bush, whose standing with the public has sunk to an all-time low, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.
The survey found Bush's overall job approval at 45 percent, down seven points since January and the lowest ever recorded in Post-ABC surveys. Fifty-three percent disapprove of the job Bush is doing.
The war has been a drag on Bush's presidency for many months, but his Iraq approval ratings in the new poll were little changed from two months ago, despite widespread violence, a rash of U.S. casualties, anti-war protests outside the president's Texas ranch and a growing debate about reducing U.S. troop levels.
What may have pushed Bush's overall ratings down in the latest poll is pervasive dissatisfaction over soaring gas prices. Two-thirds of those surveyed said gas prices are causing financial hardship to them or their families. Gas prices stand to go even higher in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's rampage through the oil-rich Gulf Coast.
More ominously for the president, six in 10 Americans said there were steps the administration could take to reduce gas prices. Slightly more than a third say the recent run-up has been due to factors beyond the administration's control.

But I'm not sure we have the refining capacity for it to do much good in the short term. In other words, we're all screwed.