One of the fascinating things about tea-party conservatives is how they hate Obama so much, they will allow themselves to be blinded from rational thinking--on just about everything.

For decades, OPEC (which controls 75% of the world's oil) has manipulated oil prices by lowering production when the prices are low and looking the other way when they are high. Whenever there is a conflict in oil rich nations, our prices go up even if production is not harmed by those events.

What's more troubling is the fact that speculators are nearly as powerful as OPEC because when prices start going up during peak driving seasons, they totally distort the market by gambling on sustained higher rates.

This toxic marriage of OPEC and speculators has devastated the average consumers for decades and our presidents have been helpless in addressing these issues.

Not anymore!!!

While many past presidents have tapped the oil reserve in a variety of emergency situations, none of them have done it with the obvious goal of chasing away short-selling speculators.

That was simply brilliant Mr. President.

This move shocked the system by throwing uncertainty in the oil markets that scared the speculators half to death. Now, they are looking for other places to invest and for the first time OPEC is shocked that we consumers also have a say in how much we pay at the pump.

Economists are right to applaud the president's brilliant move:

"Oil Traders: Tapping Reserve Was 'Genius' Move by Obama With US crude prices already down 16 percent from their April high, pundits and politicians everywhere were asking Thursday: "Why would President Obama tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when oil prices were already falling?” The answer is simple: Obama knew this would have the maximum impact, hitting speculators on the chin, according to traders. “Arguably the timing of the release is genius,” said Stephen Weiss of Short Hills Capital. “If the SPR had been released as crude worked higher, the effect would have been relatively momentary, but releasing it now, with the momentum on crude prices turning down, will add to the price decline as speculators hit their stops and margin limits more quickly forcing them to sell.”

http://www.cnbc.com/...

As expected, even though the amount of oil Obama released was about a two day supply, big business and republicans (which really are the same entity) are outraged—you can see their responses here and here.

The reality is that they hate this president so much, they would rather OPEC manipulate the price of 75% of the world’s oil for another century, instead of allowing a sitting president to affect change in a two-day supply.

Wow??

This does not sound like American exceptionalism to me.

