I don't normally complain about gas prices. Two summers ago, the $4 per gallon was a little ridiculous, if you'll remember.

Now, prices are a cozy $2.60 to $2.70, give or take.

Yet still, it is much higher than it was even last year at this time, by about a buck.

Now, during the Bush Administration's reign, I had some wacko callers who tried to convince me the pump prices were somehow linked to the Texan in the White House at the time.

That's right. Not only did gas prices start increasing substantially after George W. Bush took office, they would magically go down just before each election period.

This, they said, was part of a great Republican conspiracy to reward the oil giants for their good Republican support. This was offered as proof of how conniving, evil and conniving the president was.

Of course, those who would inform me of this brilliant plan would then also accuse the president of being stupid, which I never quite understood.

So, to those people who called, and the rest of you who actually thought that was the case: What's your excuse now?

The Texan is out of the White House and we have a guy in office who, to put it mildly, is not a great friend of the oil industry. So, if there was a little fix going on between big oil and the president, how come prices are higher now than when Bush left office?

I don't know how many of you voted based on oil prices, but I assume some of you probably let it influence you a little bit. In the back of your mind, you thought a change in political parties would bring an end to the high oil prices.

What do you say now?

What is the explanation and who gets the finger pointing?

You can't blame Republicans in Congress. There aren't enough of them left to substantially impact anything.

You can't blame Republicans in the White House; there are none there at all.

So if you can't blame Republicans, who does that leave?

By the twisted logic you demonstrated to me, the only likely culprit at this point seems to be the Democrats.

In truth, oil prices, like the prices of all major things, will fluctuate from time to time.

However, if you don't think federal policy has some effect on oil prices, you are wrong. Taxes and regulations make a big impact on the price you pay at the pump.

And if you are forced to deal with higher prices because of that, perhaps you can take some solace in the fact the oil companies are not the beneficiary.

When some presidential candidates, including Barack Obama, talked last year about moving away from a fossil fuel-based economy, they mentioned it would take "sacrifice." For those of you who didn't figure it out then, the word "sacrifice" means higher prices.

I certainly hope you liked what you got when you voted for what you did.

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My cousin Clyde said if you like the current global recession, you are going to love cap and trade.

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Reporter Ken Black is a Sunday columnist for the Times-Republican. The views expressed in this column are personal views of the writer and don't necessarily reflect the veiws of the T-R. Contact Ken Black at 641-753-6611 or kblack@timesrepublican.com