Obama has kicked off his re-election campaign by releasing some oil from the government storage caverns. It’s a meaningless move as far as what consumers see at the pump. A one-day’s drop in oil prices is noise. It might be a signal to the Saudis of some sort, but it strikes me as pure politics. From now until the 2012 elections, there are going to be more such announcements in all sorts of areas, because Obama has to do something to counter the bad economy. This move detracts from the press that was being given to the Republicans and perhaps some of the other economic news coming out. Speculators are always an easy target for politicians. What do we do (I’m one of them) except go to great lengths to forecast markets, take on undiversified risks, carry inventories, endure large fluctuations in our wealth, and supply market liquidity? Off with our heads! We’re as bad as wholesalers, tradesmen, and merchants who add no value. Put us in the same category as those nasty moneychanging Jews.
What a joke! All that oil was supposed to be some sort of Strategic Oil Reserve for emergencies, and now Obama releases some for no tangible reason at all. It’s possible he’s also trying to convey to the untutored that no one should worry about his committing U.S. armed forces to Libya on his own hook because he’s negating the effect of any oil supply interruption by this release. That too is politics if it’s the thinking.
7:50 pm on June 23, 2011
