US foreign policy plays a big role in oil prices

Glug, glug, glug. You know that sound? Of course you do. It's the sound of gasoline gushing into your car's gas tank. It's the sound of money gushing out of your wallet. And it's now the surround-sound of the deepening global economic crisis, as skyrocketing oil prices push up commodity prices and spark a worldwide food shortage. So it's no surprise that presidential contenders Barack Obama and John McCain are vying to promise relief from high oil prices. Obama promises to tax oil company windfall profits, double fuel-efficiency standards for the auto industry and increase government-funded research into alternative energy sources. McCain swears he'll suspend the federal gas tax, rely on market innovation to spur conservation and open currently off-limits coastal areas for oil drilling. But what neither mentions — and the media rarely point out — is that U.S. foreign policy also has a dramatic effect on the price of oil. So if you don't like gas at more than $4 a gallon, you should look at the candidates' foreign policy platforms too.