Bush says rising oil prices could hurt recovery

President Bush said rising oil prices could damage the country's economic recovery but he is prepared to consider measures to ease the pain if Iraq's decision to stop oil exports for a month compounds the problem, the Wall Street Journal reported. In an Oval Office interview, the president refused to rule out tapping into the nation's strategic petroleum reserves or cutting gasoline taxes if necessary, the Journal reported."Bad energy policy, or the failure to have energy policy, or the fact that we're dependent upon unstable countries is a reason why I do not believe that we're out of the economic woods yet," Bush told the Journal.The potential for an oil shock is "why we've got to be very cautious about making bold predictions about the economy," Bush said. "We're an energy-dependent nation."The oil scare underscored the need for Congress to pass his energy plan, especially a provision calling for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Bush said."Well, I wouldn't call it a friendly gesture," Bush said of Iraq's latest move. "Iraq is a problem, and again, another reason why it's a problem we witnessed today."On the debate over stock options, Bush disagreed with the notion of requiring companies to account for stock options as an expense against earnings, an idea to which U.S. businesses are fiercely opposed, the Journal said. The idea has received the support of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.Instead, Bush suggested adding some stock options to the number of shares outstanding used to calculate a company's widely watched earnings per share figure, the Journal said.In addition, the president said he thought reforms were needed in corporate governance, but didn't think problems at collapsed energy trader Enron Corp. and struggling accounting firm Andersen had undermined confidence in financial markets, the paper reported. Chief executives "need to be held accountable for full exposure and full detail of assets and liabilities," he told the Journal.