The $4.00 A Gallon Trip Wire

So now we have the Saudi’s promising to up their oil production to ease fears and concerns about the impact of high oil prices around the world.

We also have John McCain pulling a move to have offshore oil drilling along the coasts of America, a change in stance so drastic that a devotee of the game Twister would be left with their jaw agape.

Seems that the $4.00 a gallon trip wire has emitted a tune so sour when it was plucked that desperation and exasperation have merged to provide an impetus so strong that to match it would require the combined strength of both Hercules and Superman.

At $4.00 a gallon alternate fuel sources and their development look good. OPEC wants none of that, so they’ll pump more, just enough, to keep the price at $3.00 to $3.50 a gallon. It won’t happen as soon as we think, some are even saying that we’ll have to get a lot nearer to the $200 a barrel price before we’ll see anything in the way of serious decreases, perhaps the first effects in 6 months or so, but that’s where it will settle.

Could you imagine rolling up to the pump and having 3 or 4 energy sources to choose from to fuel your car? OPEC wants to make sure that scenario remains an expensive dream to develop.

Does the idea of having these many choices at the pump sound crazy? For those of a certain age, I’ll remind you of a time when there was only one phone company and it was hard to imagine a second or a third.

At $4.00 a gallon, we have, in addition to John McCain, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (who by this move shows he REALLY wants to be McCain’s VP) & South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham (BIG McCain supporter/reminder/corrector) both attempting to get whiplash by changing their long standing positions AGAINST offshore drilling.

All three cite the need to lease these areas ONLY with a state’s approval, (which might cause a problem if a bordering state says yes and its’ oil spill washes up on the shores of a neighboring state that said no – but I digress) and offer this as a plan for the beleaguered American taxpayer.

Or is it really just a case of pandering to potential campaign donors who own lots of oil stock (who are flush with cash) by handing out even more leased land to the oil companies before Bush leaves office? More land NOT to explore and develop in addition to the huge amount that these companies currently have and do nothing with already.