Time and again the Obama administration pushes the idea that the Bush administration was some sort of deregulatory nirvana. This time it’s Lisa Jackson of the EPA:
The theory that less regulation ought to be good for the economy was put to the test in last administration. In that time, there was no apparent benefit for businesses or consumers. Prices for most products went up and the cost of fuel increased astronomically. Any savings that may have been expected for businesses certainly didn’t translate into higher wages for American workers.
In this strange Obama view of history the size of government and regulation didn’t grow under Bush, and (in this particular case), Congress didn’t pass two massive, bureaucratic energy bills, EPACT 2005 and EISA. Presumably, Bush didn’t go to war either, and we have always been at peace with Eurasia.