Exxon Mobil delivered its strongest performance ever last year, earning a record $40.6 billion in net income because of surging oil prices, the company said Friday.

$40.6 BILLION PROFIT!!!!!!!!! in 2007 while the country just lost 17,000 jobs in Janurary 2008. The Bush/Cneney team and their lapdog Congress continues to side with big oil as the country bleeds.

How do you like em now?

The Big Five are BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Shell. The data for the figure can be found here.

How is it that you can blame our government for the price of oil? It is set by OPEC and not Washington.

Golly, President Bush spent his presidency defending big oil, and has rewarded them at our expense. Last year, he killed tax incentives for wind and solar power, alternative fuels, energy efficiency, clean coal, and cleaner cars all to prevent the elimination of a measly $1 billion in annual big oil tax loopholes. In 2007, ExxonMobil and the other big four oil companies are likely to make a combined profit of at least $120 billion. President Bush and the GOP's defense of big oil is shameful.

You are not answering the question. The price of oil is not set by Washington. It is set by OPEC. These other areas you mention has nothing to do with the price of oil. I have to ask you one more time. How is it that you blame our government for the price of oil?

I agree that our government doesn't set the price for sweet crude oil. That however, doesn't make it right to coddle folks like Exxon and Shell with legislation in their favor while they're robbing the country. I could fill this page with links of Republican tax breaks, oil contributions to lawmakers, and their legislation that refuses to stop them from robbing us. Exxon made $40.6 BILLION dollars off of a comodity that's the life blood of this country. That's $40,600,000,000. That's more than any corporation has ever made in history. Regardless of the price of crude, we're being gouged at the pumps and the Bush regime and the Republican leaders seem to think it's just fine. They refer to it as a "free market". Would it still be a free market if drinking water was $50 a gallon?