Is That Legal?

Are you really implying that the Bush team lowered gas prices to help improve the Republicans' chances for the election? Wow, you attribute a lot of power and competence to them. Here's why prices actually went up, though: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/09/business/EU_FIN_MKT_Oil_Prices.php

How about the moon landing? Do you think that was faked, too?

Coincidence? I think...not!

Here's why prices actually went up, though: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/09/business/EU_FIN_MKT_Oil_Prices.php

Riiiight... Because it's impossible to manipulate inventories in order to manipulate the end prices. One might ask *why* inventories were suddenly found to be lower the day after the election.

I also note that a change in oil prices in either the futures market or the spot market simply could not have had an effect on the pump price the SAME DAY without intervention by the oil companies.

The explanation "me" purports to offer really isn't an explanation at all.

me; the allegation isn't that the GOP manipulated gas prices to try to affect the election; it's that the oil companies manipulated gas prices to try to affect the election. And they certainly do have the both the power and motive to do so. It wouldn't even be that costly (had it worked) since a couple of months of artificially lower prices would be a small price to pay for two years of artificially high prices free from potential interference from Congress.
Even if you were right and changes in oil prices led to an immediate change in gas prices (something we didn't see when the price of oil started to drop earlier in the year), the numbers don't add up. The story you linked to said the price of oil rose by slightly over 2 percent. The cost of oil is less than half the production cost for gasoline so that should have meant around a 1 percent increase in gas prices, not an increase of 6 percent or more.