For example, current debate on drilling offshore in congress

Market watch washington very very close. If there is any tipover on this debate, market will factor in.

Remember that crude oil price is decided by future commodity which is "forward" financial instrument. It is not what is happening now that affact price. It is what mostly happen in near future that decide prices.

If US concluded the debate and decided to drill, you will see prices would go down rapidly because traders holding long positions face high risk.

Other factors include Iran, Russia with this Georgia conflict. The last factor is overall market: oversold or overbought