....Amazing Part No. 3 is that, before the war began, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the debonair Saudi ambassador, assured President Bush that "the Saudis hoped to fine-tune oil prices over 10 months to prime the economy for 2004," according to Bob Woodward's Plan of Attack. "What was key, Bandar knew, were the economic conditions before a presidential election. … " On the April 19 edition of CNN's Larry King Live, Bandard clarified that "this was nothing unusual." He had fielded similar requests from Bill Clinton in 2000 and Jimmy Carter in 1979. "We always want any president who is in office to be re-elected," Bandar explained. Presidential challengers are hereby placed on notice.
Unfortunately, as Alan Murray pointed out in a May 18 Wall Street Journal column, "Prince Bandar's ability to keep oil prices below $30 a barrel is shot. … The Saudi government has indicated it will boost production, but the market has shrugged off those assurances." Murray quoted oil expert Daniel Yergin explaining why: Much of the price run-up is caused by the anxiety over the turmoil in Iraq. To put it in terms that supporters of the three Bush tax cuts can understand: Poor planning for the postwar occupation of Iraq is costing you money at the gas pump.
http://www.slate.com/id/2100772