At a moment when economic anxiety already runs deep, diesel prices across the United States have shattered all previous records — reaching $9.99 per gallon in California and surpassing $6 nationally — sending a visible, unavoidable signal through every supply chain, restaurant, and household that touches the cost of moving goods. The surge arrives weeks before midterm elections, when voters historically translate felt economic pain into political judgment. History reminds us that energy prices are rarely just numbers at a pump; they are a mirror in which citizens read the competence of those w