Gas Prices Donald Trump Trumps the Field

President Obama's national address on energy on March 30th  missed the point completely (please see "Obama Echoes The American Petroleum Institute Mantra" 03.31.11) . Not a word about speculation on the commodity exchanges, and not a word about manipulation. This in the face of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting  Countries (OPEC) on going collusion as a cartel to limit production in order to force prices ever higher. The Presidents speech on energy seemed profoundly out of touch with the realities of the moment.
Most telling was President Obama's assertion that oil cannot be pumped fast enough to keep up with demand. This in the face of Saudi Arabia's willful breach of their assurances only two months ago that with their 4 million standby pumping capacity, exceeding more  than double Libya's output,  they would pump enough oil to make up for the loss of Libyan crude  (please see "Oil Drops as Saudi's Signal More Supply" 01.25.11).
 
We now learn that the Saudi's  have gone back on their word and  that "Saudi's throttled back oil production"  according to the International Energy Agency (FT 04.13.11) in spite of prices for Brent Crude breaching $120 barrel and WTI over $110/bbl. To put matters in perspective, Saudi Arabia is the de facto leader of the OPEC cartel. Yet not a word of remonstration form the President nor his Energy Secretary Steven Chu holding OPEC's production restraints accountable for today's extortionary high oil prices. Nor for that matter any degree of pushback from virtually anyone in government nor commentary focused on exacerbated OPEC manipulation from most any corner of the media.The only person out there telling it like it is, is one Donald Trump. "OPEC is sapping our strength". That truism, simple, straight forward, uttered in anger and concern is far beyond any utterance that our oil addled political class is prepared to make.Does it take someone far from the Saudi financed think tanks along the Beltway and wealthy enough not to be influenced by the oiligopoly to face down the extortion inherent in the construct of today's oil prices, enfeebling the economy and costing Americans thousands upon thousands of jobs.

Even if nothing more, Donald Trump in openly confronting OPEC and making it an issue on the front line of political discourse has made an important contribution toward an America finding its bearings once again.