Rising petrol prices fuel anti-Bush backlash

Maybe Prime Minister John Howard, when he travels to Washington late next week, could offer a few tips to the President about the need to keep his team focused, “on message” and disciplined. But for all the debate about Iraq and the mounting human cost, there is something else that many pundits have not been talking about lately: the price of petrol.

The petrol-guzzling US, with more than 200million registered vehicles, is particularly sensitive to oil prices.