Connect the Dots

First, a little quiz. Raise your hands if you think doubling the cost of transportation could trigger a recession in an economy that spends 66% of its energy on transportation.

That of course, is what happened when gas prices doubled last year. That wasn't part of a long-term trend, it was a bubble driven by fears of an Iranian war, fears driven by the obvious eagerness of the Bush administration. To make a few billion, oil traders and *others in the oil business* bid up futures until we were spending every available dollar on gas.

Then, as credit cards maxed out and mortgages went into default, the markets crashed and the Bushies pitchforked $700 billion to their friends on Wall Street. Nice work if you can get it.

So that was your 2008. 'Wham, bam', but no 'thank you, ma'am' from this crew. Being a Republican means never saying you're sorry.