forgive me if I am wrong but the last time the oil spiked in price it was the beginning of the recession.
You're not. Oil pricing spiking was the catalyst of the recession.

I take a very practical position on our oil consumption: The government must do its best to incentivize the diversification of our fuel sources for transportation, because we cannot survive another 50 years when we burn oil for 99% of our transportation needs. Its going to have to be a mix of electric cars, plug in hybrids (like the Volt), and LNG. The U.S. is too vulnerable to swings in oil prices. There needs to be options, and unfortunately we have seen that the market won't protect the consumer in this regard. There will not be a gradual upward adjustment in prices. it can be violent, quick, and cause massive economic damage. As much as I hate government hand-outs, this is one area where we need to step it up. Its critical to our national security.