GWB: Power the power

[snopes]

Comment: Did George Bush make this quote: "The California crunch really is
the result of not enough power-generating plants and then not enough power
to power the power of generating plants".

This was supposedly quoted by Bush coming from the New York Times, January
14, 2001. Is this statement true or false??

[Mateus]

NY Times interview

Q. But you've expressed a lot of concern, in the past, during the campaign, of balancing that preservation instinct against the livelihoods and other things.

A. Well, I will give you an example. This is where Ms. Norton, I'm confident, will probably come under fire. We need to drill for gas. We need to review -- and I said this in the campaign. None of this is new. But you didn't have to suffer through these endless hours of my speeches, my mangled syntax. Anyway, I've said that we are going to review parcel by parcel Western lands to determine the cost-benefit ratio for America. We need energy. There is a point of view sometimes expressed by the vice president during the campaign that ''oh, don't worry; we will conserve our way out of the crisis.'' Or the pinch -- let me put it to you that way. Conservation is important. That's going to be an important ingredient . . . but we need energy. The California crunch really is the result of not enough power-generating plants and then not enough power to power the power of generating plants. We need to move natural gas, whether it be from Alaska or on our Western lands. All those properties need to be reviewed. There's going to be some in which it doesn't make any sense to drill. . . .

[Silas Sparkhammer]

Despite the grotesque inelegance of the language, it is scientifically valid: you can build as many power plants as you want, but without fuel, they won't generate any electricity.

Silas ("Fuel me once, shame on you... won't get fueled again...")

[Buckle Up]

Originally Posted by Silas Sparkhammer

Despite the grotesque inelegance of the language, it is scientifically valid: you can build as many power plants as you want, but without fuel, they won't generate any electricity.

What about wind or solar?

Or does that count as "fuel"?

[Dr. Winston O'Boogie]

Originally Posted by Buckle Up

What about wind or solar?

Or does that count as "fuel"?

Yes that counts, but if a windmill isn't catching wind (fuel), it isn't generating power.