For all the price-gouging accusations from the left and Congress, ExxonMobil is struggling to make ends meet.

Exxon Mobil, proclaimed by the no-drill demagogues to be the poster child for gas gouging, recognizes this as well, deciding to unload its 800 company-owned stations and an additional 1,400 dealer-operated locations to distributors.

Still, Democrats will say Exxon and its unindicted co-conspirators still make obscene profits. The fact is that American oil companies in 2007 had an 8.3% profit margin, compared with 8.9% for all U.S. manufacturing. The cigarette and beverage companies’ profit margin was 19.1%. Drug companies made 18.4%.