Hurricane Gustav Bludgeons Oil Prices, Spares People

In a great twist of irony, Hurricane Gustav did more for lowering the nation's gas bills than any of our congressmen could muster.  Forget about "evil speculators."  Who knew that the price of oil would surely fall if a tropical storm billed as the next Katrina turned out to be enormously overrated?  The price of oil is down over $7 on the news that Gustav did not do any major damage to the energy infrastructure in the Gulf.  I have yet to read reports of any human casualties, although have heard reports of significant property damage and that parts of the region will be without electricity for days.  Although certainly difficult for the residents of the Gulf Coast region and investors who were long oil futures, the nation just breathed a collective sigh of relief.  We all know who to thank the next time we fill up our gas tank.