These are truly triumphant times for people who don't understand economics at all. While most of the politicians in Washington D.C. are content to let Americans think the raging free market caused bankers to lend money to people who were very unlikely to make good on their mortgages, most of the politicians in Frankfort are thrilled to watch Kentuckians rant and rave about evil oil companies raping consumers with high gas prices.
Enter Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway. Courtesy of PageOne, Conway claims to be studiously poring over pricing data as he readies a fresh round of gas price lawsuits after the major price disruptions in the wake of Hurricane Ike. And then he is still on some wild kick about "reviewing" the 1997 merger between Ashland Oil and Marathon Oil.
If Conway knows anything about the Ashland/Marathon merger, he would know that the FTC already fully vetted it in 1998 and again in 2004. He can't seriously think he knows something that everyone else doesn't know.