Wednesday, March 12, 2008

The Press Secretary and the Falling Dollar

WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFING, MARCH 7, 2008

REPORTER: I’d like to follow up on their refusal to
talk about the dollar, if I could. I mean, we’re in a
kind of a bad situation here, when OPEC says the
reason for $105 or $106 a barrel of oil is the falling
value of the dollar — and you won’t address that
issue. Where do we go to find out who is right?

WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY DANA PERINO: Well, as he
just said, the Treasury Secretary is where you go to
talk about the dollar. It’s a longstanding policy that
predates this administration, and I’m not going to
change it today. But Treasury can talk about it.

REPORTER: I don’t expect you to change it, but I do
expect you to be able to say whether OPEC is
completely wrong about this, or whether there is at
least something to their claim that the dollar is
responsible for the high price of oil right now.

MS. PERINO: WENDELL, I'M UNDER STRICT INSTRUCTIONS,
AND HAVE BEEN FROM THE BEGINNING, TO NOT TALK ABOUT
THE DOLLAR, AND I'M NOT GOING TO GET FIRED TO SATISFY
YOUR QUESTION.

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