I just don’t get it. It seems like just yesterday the media was telling us about how gas prices zoomed after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita because the storms disrupted oil production in the Gulf. It became part of the "conventional wisdom" of the day: hurricanes in the Gulf = higher gas prices. President Bush even released some oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a result.
Look, here’s one story from MSNBC:
Gas prices in cities across the United States soared by as much as 40 cents a gallon from Tuesday to Wednesday, a surge blamed on disruptions by Hurricane Katrina in Gulf of Mexico oil production.
[...]
Katrina knocked out about 95 percent of oil production in the Gulf -- a key supply point for the U.S. About a quarter of domestic oil comes from the region. The impact is being felt far from the Gulf.
Hey, here’s another story from CNN:
Rita could equal $5 gas
The timing and strength of the latest storm could cause worse spike at the pumps than Katrina did.
September 22, 2005: 9:32 AM EDT
By Chris Isidore, CNN/Money senior writer
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Remember when gas spiked to $3-plus a gallon after Hurricane Katrina? By this time next week, that could seem like the good old days.
Weather and energy experts say that as bad as Hurricane Katrina hit the nation's supply of gasoline, Hurricane Rita could be worse.
Katrina damage was focused on offshore oil platforms and ports. Now the greater risk is to oil-refinery capacity, especially if Rita slams into Houston, Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas.
"We could be looking at gasoline lines and $4 gas, maybe even $5 gas, if this thing does the worst it could do," said energy analyst Peter Beutel of Cameron Hanover. "This storm is in the wrong place. And it's absolutely at the wrong time," said Beutel.
Heh. Good ol’ days, indeed.
So why in the hell are people in the McCain campaign--including John McCain himself--saying that Gulf of Mexico oil production wasn’t affected by Katrina and Rita? And why in the hell aren't interviewers calling them on it?
Has everyone forgotten that the hurricanes were the big reason everyone was given for the last big spike in gas prices? Cripes, I haven't forgotten. It was just three years ago, for crying out loud.
Is everyone on crack or something? Don’t you people remember anything?!
