BOY, THE DEMOCRATS AREN'T GETTING ANYTHING OUT OF THIS:

Oil down sharply as Gustav seen weakening (Associated Press, September 1, 2008)

Oil prices fell sharply Monday as weather forecasters said Hurricane Gustav was weakening as it advanced toward Louisiana. [...]

"The best reasons we can give for that are the strength of the U.S. dollar, the continuing decline in consumer demand and the market's recent trend lower," a Cameron Hanover report said. "The reaction is telling us that this market just does not have the stomach it once did for higher prices."

Current crude supplies in the United States were "ample due to higher imports from the North Sea," said analysts at JBC Energy in Vienna, Austria, another possible reason for the lack of a rally in oil prices.