Demand for gas in the U.S. is still growing, despite the cost. When demand starts to decrease, I'll be more concerned.
I'm less worried about prices at the pump for my car (thank you Honda!) and truck (not so lucky) than I am about the inflationary effect on the economy as a whole but I don't think that most people make the connection.
As far as the Dems go, hell didn't we want to go into Iraq so we could get cheap oil? That was the canard for at least of couple of years. Now it's profits for Haliburton. Tomorrow it will be for something else. I don't think anyone is listening to them.
Not much that W can do at this point anyway for the short haul. If you believe in the free market, there isn't much explanation needed. If he tried to stand up and say that oil prices were up because of the relation of world supply and demand and a probably a shift to the right in the demand curve because of the change in the Chinese economy and possibly a shift in the supply curve caused by terror considerations of AG nations, half of the country would be asleep and the other half would still be yelling Haliburton!
I'm not saying that I know the exact cause (and depending on your school of economics, whether anyone knows as a science) but I'm fairly certain there isn't a sound bite explanation for it.
Government intervention? Price controls?
They think it's bad now, try that one on and see the chaos.
As for me, between my 3 kids, myself and my ex-wife, I;m paying for 5 SUV's and gas for 4 of them.
Don't hear me cryin' though, I'm in the O&G business. This won't last forever. We drilled a natural gas well in Nov. of 2000, it went on line in Feb. 2001 and paid out in six months at an average natural gas price of $1.85. That's how quick things can change. Nat Gas prices in the winter of 2000 were above $10.00 in CA. Currently they closed around $9.46 today.
Look out this winter, its gonna be expensive.