I filled up my car yesterday and gas was below $3.90 a gallon for the first time in recent memory and when I checked the news this morning oil was below $111 a barrel, which is good. In my opinion, it relieves some of the pressure on the market and hopefully lets a recovery get a little firmer grip, but there are also a couple downsides associated with this drop in prices.
The first (and if I am being non-selfish probably less important)is political. It robs the Republicans of the only effective campaign issue they had. Not that they have done a whole lot with it, but it was better than nothing and it did have a little bite. Voters have pretty short memories especially when it comes to their pocket books and if gas is $2.50 a gallon in November they wont care that it was $4.25 in June.
Secondly, it kills just about all chances for a coherent comprehensive national energy plan. Nuclear - dead, Coal to Gas - dead, Outer Continental Shelf Drilling - dead, etc. etc. If oil is cheap there is no need for change, and the only two things with a shorter memory than a voter are a hot girl who i have given my phone number to, and a politician when poll numbers aren't screaming crisis in his ear. So no changes will take place and then next year we get to experience all of the pain again with none of the hope of relief and that just sucks.
I guess my logical next question now is how do we keep enough pressure on the pols to make sure some energy reform passes after they come back from recess and before the election. That won't help the GOP in Novemeber but it will be good for the country in the long run.
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