Can it be? Is it possible? Are there really only six days left until this endurance contest is over? Next Tuesday, Americans will decide who the next president will be. Thank goodness! It's been a strange two years. The never-ending campaign has been soul-sucking. Never before have I seen a contest stretched for so long, with so many talking heads, political movies and late-night comedy. I'm exhausted. I have a feeling the country is exhausted. We just want it to be over. Stick a fork in it, it's done. But it's not. There's still so many hours left. Enough to inundate me with more talking points than I could ever care to learn. So now, as the oil industry enters a strange phase, one must wonder just where it's going to be in the aftermath. Opening up more domestic drilling was great campaign rhetoric, but now that our focus is on the economy and not our gas tanks, I wonder how much the American voters will consider the effect their vote will have. Probably not very much, as energy is not as important an issue as national security, health care and the Iraq war (actually, it is, but don't tell that to the voters, they'll throw daggers at you). So get ready people, maybe it will be Morning in America again, or whatever populist rant gets your goat. For me, it's just four more years of nonsense to look forward to. –Stephen Payne, Editor, Oil and Gas Investor This Week; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; spayne@hartenergy.com
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