$2.99

Election season drones on in the States with large amounts of political advertisements that bake half-truths and sugar coat them for the American public. Few good questions are asked at this time as the "what can you do for me?" question is asked in heads across the land as they gaze on two political figures that don't have a lot of answers. It's all about perception though, and being a friend of George Bush or a friend of Bill Ayers could be the mark of the beast to some voters.

The market has had a terrible couple past weeks with a small bounce finally coming yesterday in a 932 point DJIA rally (11% !!) yesterday. Friday afternoon showed a little promise in the last hour of trading and it continued. Perhaps this just a "dead cat bounce" that will get people excited for a day (or a week) and then give it all back again to more tears. Maybe load up on KMB (Kimberly-Clark) stock with all the Kleenex tissues we'd be using.

One thing not to shed tears over is the first sign in Manassas boasting $2.99/gallon for regular 87 octane gasoline. I saw this on a morning run and it was refreshing. Our friends at Gasbuddy.com have even identified a couple stations at $2.89/gallon. This should bode well for American consumers.

Perhaps my ignorance toward the political campaigns has left me missing if either candidate is personally claiming responsibility for the change in prices. I'm sure it's a matter of time. However, the "what next?" question will stay on my mind. Gas at $4/gallon (at least locally) is a level that really got people mad. A few ruffled feathers had people driving less, looking at alternatives, thinking about their local errands more.... it had them yelling about a possible electric car, wind power, nuclear power, off-shore drilling, etc.

I'm for a lot of alternative ideas because I just believe Americans can do those better than anywhere else in the world. And I believe in global supply & demand -- if we're demanding, someone will be supplying. The answer then becomes "how about us!" Looking at the $2.99 pivot point, will we lose our focus or are we going to still remember and demand that something is done?