We pause this morning, while the rest of the world contemplates Mr. Madoff’s Ponzi scheme and this week’s pending machinations of the Fed and OPEC, to ponder matters geopolitical. There’s something extremely telling about the reaction to the reporter who flung his shoes at That Lame Duck in the White House. And it doesn’t bode well for the next four years under the new president.

Oil prices gained a dollar today to approach last week’s record high of $133 a barrel after Nigerian rebels blew up a pipeline belonging to Royal Dutch Shell, forcing it to cut production. This from the Financial Times:

Crude prices jumped on Monday in electronic trading as news of the attack broke, but analysts said the impact on prices spilled over into Tuesday, when exchanges on both side of the Atlantic re-opened after the long weekend.

You can’t got to bed these days without waking up to higher prices for everything. Crude futures in New York hit nearly US$130 overnight, and now everyone is wondering what’s next. US$150? US$200.

If you ever wanted to know how a lame duck President runs out the clock, this week offered you a great example. Now 88 months into his 96-month term, President Bush decided it was time to assign blame for the US’s current economic woes.