"It depends on what the definition of 'is' is."

That was then; this is now. That was Bill; this is Oil:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Profits at Exxon Mobil surged 36 percent to a near record $10.4 billion in the second quarter as surging oil prices helped the world's largest publicly traded company soundly beat Wall Street forecasts.

When I learned basic economics, before the Flood, profit for a period was what was left of revenue after all expenses were paid: P=R-E. Now, I would expect revenue to increase for oil companies, as they pass increasing prices on to consumers. But if the increase in revenue (or price charged, say, at the gas pump) is just a reflection of increased cost of oil, wouldn't you expect profits to remain about the same? The only way I can get an increase in profit is if the increase in revenue exceeds the increase in expense. Hmmm ... isn't that the definition of price gouging?

Will some one please set me straight here? Will someone explain the finer points of post-Reaganomics to me? I have a 401-K to manage, after all. If it fails, I get to work until I die in the traces. (19th century horse imagery -- oh, dear.)