With ExxonMobil posting an $8.4 billion quarterly profit and gas prices expected to hit record highs this summer, the middle class can expect another dent in its financial health. Worse, Congress doesn't seem capable of providing any meaningful assistance besides making it harder to declare bankruptcy.

More important to Washington than high electric and gas bills — which make it harder for the average American to make ends meet — are their jobs, which are up for grabs in November. This, of course, means that it's time to pass out the $100 checks! That's right, Republican leadership in the Senate refused to make oil executives swear to tell the truth in hearings over huge heating bills and even larger profits just a few months ago. Now they figure they can solve this political nightmare by throwing a token amount of money at it. But to be fair, low-income families wouldn't qualify for the check.

This is a political game wrapped in a political game, as Republican leaders who hope to vote on this proposal next week have attached it to a controversial proposal allowing drilling off the coast of Alaska. It seems as if the legislative branch has given big oil the OK to exploit consumers for profit, offered government dollars to pay the political price, while simultaneously giving the oil giants more ways to make money.

Americans must begin to ask whether oil companies have become the most powerful force in government, as they hold our economy hostage, dictate foreign policy and have committee chairs in the Senate so beholden with their agenda that they aren't even sworn in before testifying. And profits in the past three months have outpaced the projected yearly savings from President Bush's proposal to cut 141 federal programs.

It is in the times our nation least needs political games and pandering that the option becomes most appealing to politicians. Right now, the American people need decisive action and a monumental effort to reduce consumption, but all we get from Washington are $100 rebate checks, which is a strange way to prove they are committed to reducing the deficit. We don't need shameless political opportunism, but a real investigation into oil companies and their influence on our purported representatives.

It took a 32 percent approval rating and the possibility of losing Congress for President Bush to give a weak endorsement to an investigation into price gouging. Nonetheless, the outcome of this investigation seems predetermined, as Mr. Bush said in a news conference: "I have no evidence that there's any rip-off taking place, but it's the role of the Federal Trade Commission to assure me that my inclination and instinct is right."

Most politicians are more shameless opportunists than innovators. The Wisconsin attorney general's race has been wrought with this brand of irresponsible debate as candidate J.B. Van Hollen accused Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager of allowing terrorists to train in the state. This statement earned the ire of the FBI, his Republican primary opponents and himself when he realized he had nothing to back up his claims.

A similar dishonorable mention goes to state assembly Republicans, who killed a merger of the state ethics and elections boards in the wake of numerous corruption convictions because some feared the new board would have a prosecutor bent on taking down innocent lawmakers. Yes, I, too, feel politicians should at least pretend to respect our intelligence. What happened to the days when they would get together over cigars and create truly innovative lame excuses?

On a lighter note, this may be my last column of the year, but I can assure you it won't be the last you'll hear from me, as I'll be your Opinion page editor next year. I extend a hearty congratulations to the current editor, Ryan Masse, for running an outstanding page this semester. It will take a massive effort to build on his success, but you can expect plenty of exciting new features from this page next year to whet your rhetorical whistle.

Bassey Etim ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in political science and journalism.