Normally, to boost Bush, after his speech, oil prices would come down.

[cantstandbush]

But I think the oil companies have been told by their neocon supporters in Congress to hold the line until they can hurt Bush so much he cries "Uncle." The neocons are fed up with him for screwing up their agenda with his insane handling of the Dubai deal, and his botched handling of Iraq. I think they are a little fed up with this arrogant, Jesus-syndromed, sociopath. They have so many ways to hurt a person who falls out of their graces.

[MacDuff]

1. Oil prices are determined on the WORLD market

not set by a few American producers/importers...and right now oil is trading above $74/barrel on the world market - this is what China will pay, Europe, and yes, Exon-Mobile and Chevron...so even if they wanted to help Bush out or not - they STILL have to go to the exchanges and buy oil at world-wide prices - which are controlled by supply & demand...the price of the stock from which gasoline is created is going up, there are bottlenecks in refining crude oil into gasoline and there are shortages (East Coast mostly) in ethanol as a replacement additive - these are the things that are driving prices up, not a love or hate of George W. Bush

I suppose the oil companies could give up their profits for a short time in order to drop the price at the pump a little - but I would think the shareholders might have some objections to that....

[cantstandbush]

3. Spoken like a true oil exec. who is making lots of money now. n/t

[charlie]

2. This latest surge

is coincident with Dubya's frothing about uncorking nukes on Iran. It's not the neocons, speculators are charging a stupid shaved monkey tax.