An excerpt from my latest item up at the MRC's BusinessandMedia.org Web site. See my article for more, including links to external content:
The recent discovery of new oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico was the perfect excuse for CNN’s Jack Cafferty to revisit his election-year conspiracy theory. But when the September 9 "In the Money" aired, the program’s panelists talked to an oil analyst about the future of oil and gas prices, leaving out the idea of a Big Oil-GOP axis of petrol.
"You know, if you were a real cynic, you could also wonder if the oil companies might not be pulling the price of gas down to help the Republicans get re-elected in the midterm elections a couple of months away," Cafferty suggested on the August 30 "Situation Room," just five days before the Chevron (NYSE: CVX) oil discovery.
Cafferty, prompted by panelist Jennifer Westhoven, repeated the allegation on the September 2 "In the Money." "Certainly the thought had crossed my mind. I mean, the oil companies have a vested interest in seeing that the Republicans remain in control of the federal government," he remarked.
"They wouldn't pull prices down before the mid-terms now, would they?" he added over laughter from his fellow panelists.
With Cafferty absent from the September 9 "In the Money," neither substitute host Andy Serwer or program panelist Allen Wastler raised Cafferty’s theory when interviewing oil analyst Fadel Gheit.
