The White House tries to spin this in the best possible light but it is what it is – begging.

Earlier Tuesday, Bush made his case for having OPEC, and particularly American ally Saudi Arabia, increase oil production as the price of gas hovers around $3 a gallon.

The Saudi oil minister, however, waited only a short time before announcing that oil prices would remain tied to market forces — a direct slap at Bush.

The president went over the head of the oil minister and made his case to King Abdullah and White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said the private conversation may have yielded some daylight in the Saudis’ hard-line stance.

“The king says that he understands the situation. He’s worried about high oil prices and how they can negatively affect economies around the world,” Perino said aboard the presidential jetliner. “The president said there’s a hope that as a result of these conversations that OPEC would be encouraged to authorize an increase in production …