The Washington Post published the results of a poll today showing that almost 40 percent of those expressing an opinion believe that the recent fall in gas prices is attributable to political manipulation of the market. While I don�t consider this a credible proposition (of course I also didn�t believe that Enron could be actively manipulating California�s electricity market in 2001), it is striking how many people are willing to believe the worst about the Bush administration.

–Dean Baker

Dean Baker is senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. He is the author of several books, including Rigged: How Globalization and the Rules of the Modern Economy Were Structured to Make the Rich Richer. Read more about Dean.