I am no economist. I couldn't tell you the difference between Adam Smith and Paul Craig Roberts. I don't know if NAFTA was good or bad for most of us, but I do know I liked it better when the person at tech support spoke English as their native language. I haven't balanced my check book since...well, to be honest I never have! I have automatic overdraft protection and don't really worry about if the balance is a few cents off. What I am trying to tell you is that everything I am about to say could be wrong; however, being a blow hard far right wing nut job, I never let being wrong stop me from spouting off. Anyway, I don't think the president has any great effect on the price of gas. Come to think of it I don't think the president has much immediate effect on the economy at all.

I know politicians, both right and left, like to make you think they are in control of everything when things are good. However, let the inflation numbers rise, unemployment creep up or a bunch of deadbeats stop paying their mortgages and watch 'um run for cover. I believe Jimmy Carter, and I am about to make my conservative friends go nuts here, got a bad rap for the economy when he was busy screwing up the country. He had plenty of faults, but I guarantee if he would have kicked some Iranian ass and brought the hostages home, Ronald Reagan would be a historical footnote. As much as I like Ronald Reagan, I don't think he was any economic gawd and Bill Clinton did just about everything an economist would say would kill growth and yet the stock market skyrocketed.

I know the conventional wisdom is that people vote their pocketbooks, but I don't have a pocketbook. I'm not even sure what a pocketbook is. I have an Elvis wallet and an ATM card and they both would rather have secure borders and a strong military than positive economic data.

Here's my point, and I do have one. I am tired of hearing about how Bush is an oilman and he is helping all is oilman buddies. Oil companies don't own the oil. Most of the oil we are now using is owned by the Saudis, Iran, and Venezuela. My, what a lovely bunch of trading partners! I think I would rather be late with my payment to my loan shark/bookie whose family is in the olive oil business than deal with any of those folks. Just in case you haven't figured this out yet, the Saudis are not in love with us. Having the Saudis for an ally is like having Scott Peterson for your fishing buddy. You do not want to turn your back for too long.

I know a there are a lot of conspiracy theories bouncing around about why the price of oil has shot through the roof. There are the Bilderberg kooks who think power mongers like the Duchess of Mallorca and the ex-mayor of Amsterdam are pulling the strings of an international cabal. Then there is another group who think the Bushes are hooked up with the house of Saud (of course they would have to have the permission of the Duchess to do anything). Then there are the ultra-green folks who think the whole thing is just a scam to drill in Alaska and offshore in California and Florida. I actually wouldn't mind if Exxon came and drilled a well in my yard. It would mean we were closer to thumbing our noses at a whole bunch of folk and a lot less yard work for me.

I really don't mind paying four bucks for gas. Sure, I would rather be paying a buck thirty, but I would also like to be paying less than sixty percent of my income to one arm of the government or another, and that is something the president could have an immediate effect on.