Didn't take long for the White House and the Saudis to deny the election price fixing story I discussed earlier:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House and a top Saudi official denied Monday a report of a deal to lower gasoline prices before the November presidential election.
The Bush administration did say it has received assurances from Saudi Arabia that oil prices will stay in the range of $22 to $28 per barrel, but said the recent discussions have nothing to do with presidential politics.
When exactly are we supposed to see prices fall to that level again? This month? Next? I only ask because, at $36.75 a barrel, it's got a ways to go before hitting $28. And the longer it takes for prices to reach that mark, the more criticism the Administration's going to receive from obnoxious jerkwads.
In a morning briefing with reporters, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Saudi Arabia recently "committed to making sure prices remained in a range of, I believe, $22 to $28" per barrel.
So you said. Funny thing is, the $22-$28 price band to which they keep referring was approved by OPEC back in 2000. Why is the White House presenting this like it's some new idea?
McClellan, grilled on the topic during the briefing with reporters Monday, said, "Prices should be determined by market forces, and we are always in close contact with producers around the world on these issues."
The only "market force" at play here is OPEC's production squeeze. Nice of McClellan to invoke the holy talisman of Capitalism, though.
Anyway, I'd be remiss in my duties if I didn't give the opposition a chance to speak. Senator Kerry?
"If, as Bob Woodward reports, it is true that gas supplies and prices in America are tied to the American election, then tied to a secret White House deal, that is outrageous and unacceptable to the American people," he told voters in Lake Worth, Florida.
"It is fundamentally wrong," he added. "It's my prayer that Americans are not being held hostage to a secret deal."
Yeah. You'd hate that.