Was he serious? That will be pretty big news for the business traveller. The new Boston to New York shuttle: (Check out those high tech wheels. Nothing old-west about that!):

I beleive it was in the context that his ancestor emmigrated to the US by ship and many people travled to the west coast by Conestoga wagon. I was trying to remember the important parts and post them so I didn't put a lot of weight in what I thought was hyperbole.

WHEW! I thought for a second he might have been saying that the American way of life was negotiable.

I was thinking more of a rail system.

What Show was it on?This has been a depressing day at PO.com. The global food shortages is freaking me out.

Oh my, that is one sorry-lookin' critter.

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BECK: When it comes to crunching the numbers on oil prices, analysts tend to get a little slippery. When oil was, I think, $60 or $70 a barrel, experts told me that, "Oh, the economy won`t take a hit as soon as the price hits $100 a barrel." Well, $100 a barrel oil seems like the good old days, quite frankly. This morning, a barrel of oil was just under $118 a barrel.

So what is the real number when the price of oil stops our cars and our economy from running?

David Andelman is the executive editor for Forbes.com.

David, $118 a barrel. That`s not the $3.50 a gallon that we`re seeing right now, because these are oil futures. When does $118 a barrel actually hit us at the pump? And what is that number going to be?

DAVID ANDELMAN, FORBES.COM: Pretty soon. I mean, certainly by the summer. There`s no question we could be seeing $4 oil. Frankly, by a year from now we could be seeing $5 a barrel oil. Remember, in Europe they`re already paying $8...

BECK: OK.

ANDELMAN: ... a gallon. A gallon. Absolutely. Eight dollars a gallon they`re paying in Europe. We could be paying $5 here before very long.

BECK: OK. Well, they`re paying $8. I know the UK today, I think, hit $10 a gallon. But that`s -- that`s not because of oil prices. That`s because their government is just screwing them at the pump.

ANDELMAN: Well, there is that.

BECK: Yes, but that`s a different story.

So tell me what the number actually is. Because you`re starting to see it now. Food prices are going up. You`re seeing these airlines having problems. Jets were not built, these giant jets were not built to be profitable over $100 a barrel. When do things like trucking, when do they just stop?

ANDELMAN: Well, nothing is going to stop, obviously. But things could get very bad very quickly. There`s no question about that.

Look, OPEC said today it was not going to produce any more oil because -- to raise to lower prices. Well, guess what? They can`t. There isn`t any more there. There`s only as much as they`re pumping now. And that`s as much as there`s ever going to be.

Frankly, the peak oil people are probably right. We`ve gotten about as much oil out of the ground or are getting as much oil out of the ground as we possibly can.

So what happens? We keep using more. China is going to be using more. India is going to be using more. They`re all out there using more. We could see $200 a barrel oil very soon, $300 within the next couple of years.

BECK: Wait, wait, wait. David, this -- this economy was not built for $100. It`s like we`re like the 727s. We`re not built for that.

ANDELMAN: Nor was society. There seems to be a God-given right in America to think that you can just fly home to Chicago from New York for the weekend. Well, guess what? You`re not going to be able to.

I just booked a ticket to Switzerland. The end of June I have to get over there. Right? I paid a $200 a ticket fuel surcharge on a $600 ticket.

BECK: David, let me ask you this. I read a story just recently that said that intercontinental travel, from flying from, you know, New York to Europe, or -- will be a thing of the past for, except for the real rich. And even cross-continental travel will be a once, twice, three times in a lifetime kind of event. Do you believe that to be true?

ANDELMAN: Absolutely. Look, my grandparents, when they came from the old country, they came by boat. And that was the only way they could get here. Look at the Conestoga wagons. That`s how we settled America. We could be back to the Conestoga wagons before long.

BECK: Well, that`s good. I should have stayed on vacation a little - - just a little longer.

ANDELMAN: If you could afford to.

BECK: Have some cake and ice cream. Thank you very much, David.

Now, coming up, Jimmy Carter having discussions with Hamas. Bad enough. But a presidential candidate hoping to embrace that kind of foreign policy, much, much worse. Barack Obama, the subject of tonight`s "Real Story," coming up.

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