Oil's at $100, Where is George Bush?

Oil's at $100 a barrel today, and what is George W. Bush doing about it? Nothing of course. I predicted in September that by January oil would be at $100 a barrel. Why was I so prescient? It really wasn't that hard. I knew that $100 oil was one of Bush's priorities before he left office.

You see, George Bush doesn't care about the effects that high oil prices are having on the average man, he doesn't care that high oil prices are enriching terrorist-supporting regimes around the world while bankrupting the United States, he was elected to serve and protect the oil industry he's part of, country come second.

Can you imagine if another president was in office? Oil hitting $100 a barrel would trigger a whole series of national security meetings. Plans would be developed to make the country energy independent, to conserve energy, to siphon the power that OPEC holds over supply and price. Instead, the issue is ignored and we get smirks by the accidental president.

I knew when T. Boone Pickens, the oil billionaire who was part of the Swift boating of John Kerry, said that oil would hit $100 a barrel, that it would. This presidency has been all about pleasing the oil industry. From Cheney's secret energy meetings to Bush's hand-holding Saudi relationship, this country has been trashed to line the pockets of Exxon and Chevron and the Arab Sheikdoms the Bush family is so close to.

On a side note, I can't help contrasting the difference between economics and political science on days like this. Watching the various business channels bubble and gush in giddy excitement as oil hovers at the magical $100 level, shows how superficial economics is when it comes to running the world.

A political scientist is talking about geopolitical repercussions, economic justice issues, environmental ramifications and so on. The business people are just wondering how they can make money on the trade. This shows how economics is just a simple subfield of political science, the most important field one can study.

Where is Bush today? No doubt toasting his brethren in the oil industry as they congratulate him on his greatest accomplishment of all; $100 oil.