I'm pretty much in agreement with Mr. Benton's assessment; the supply of oil is finite, and there hasn't been a major discovery in thirty years. So long-term, there is nowhere for the price to go but up.
But that having been said, I think it's likely that demand has, for the time being, been reduced to a point where we won't see $4.00 gasoline this summer; the professionals have cited a market driven by "speculative interest" since at least 2005, and that pressure appears to have died down.
So how do we make use of this little breather? Again, we have to understand that the most shallow of the politicians are driven by the thinking of the front row at WrestleMania, so any real help is likely to come from the private sector, where reason rules and those in charge plan further ahead.
I have some friends who drive for a living, and according to them, the domestic trucking industry is trying to find alternatives for the longer hauls. Back in the times of cheaper fuel, the time-sensitivity of most goods had sharpened the truckers' adavantage to the point where rail service for even such large markets as East Coast-Chicago weren't considered for anything of value
If the new market realities again make rail carriage viable for relatively short distances, then the pressures on a limited rail infrastructure are going to increase, and rapidly; development of new corridors and the possiblity of extending commutation zones further into the exurbs will strengthen the push for more multiple-track mains and additional interlocking plants. These will cost money, and the freight roads aren't going to pick up the tab wihout a
quid pro quo.
There's likely to be a break in the action while the new administration wrestles (bad metaphor
) with some issues closer to the public's "hot button"; but the issue itself is not going to go away.