Dave wrote:

“As an old oilpatch brat, I am now convinced that oil prices are being manipulated downward.”

Ditto, Dave. Me: Sumatra, Saudi (E. Prov.), W. Aus., Iran (Khargh Island).

Back when we began our invasion of Baathist Iraq, I figured that a crucial part of Bush/Cheney’s Iraq plan was to alleviate the financial toll of Operation Iraqi Freedom on our nation’s treasury and citizens by coordinating a major energy price-reduction timed to coincide with our clear progress there.

[Then came the financial crash, and the sudden need to shore-up consumer spending in the face of the pending recession this Christmas added more impetus to this price-tinkering.]

The good news is, this price reduction (coordinated or not) may last awhile, no matter what Bush and his team do. After our defeat of Iraq’s Baathists, Iraq’s oil exports are surging on target, a new respect is evident in the region for both energy-production and America’s role in protecting its global transport…and I noticed that Bush filled our strategic reserves earlier in the year (the fed’s presence in the market in January and March drove prices up, BTW).

This foresight permits his administration to buffer our market further through Winter 2008/09. And he leaves P.E. Obama in a very strong position as he takes Bush’s seat in January 2009.