What I really liked about your piece is the President setting a tone for ways we as Americans can be more energy efficient. I would like our leaders to encourage more use of public transport, car pooling and the like. Why not devote an hour one weekday night to discussing common sense ways to save energy (and money). If nothing else, such a speech would go a long way toward helping improve the Republican party’s image on environmental standards without appearing to compromise to the left leaning environmental groups. What you have given us, is a great way two sides can work together to achieve meaningful change.

Alas, that is unfortunately not the way our fearless leader does business. The biggest regret I have from the Bush administration is the lack of common sense leadership examples such as this one. Further, he is stubborn and is unwilling at this point to work with anyone beyond is inner circle.

Anyway, it would, in my opinion, be better to rely less on “friends” like the Saudis and acquaintances like the Venezuelans. If we had actually figured out a way to turn shale into oil cheaply we wouldn’t have to rely on dictatorships for our energy. You’re certainly right about the SUV’s under Clinton, but that was also the fault of our CAFE standards and the ways the auto companies used to get around them.

What about the other ideas in the piece? Use the presidency as a bully pulpit.

Also, profits from the oil companies have helped solidfy the pension and retirement futures of millions of Americans. The major holders of Exxon Mobil are (from Yahoo Finance):
Barclays Global Investors
STATE STREET CORPORATION
VANGUARD GROUP, INC. (THE)
FMR LLC
Bank of New York Mellon Corporation
AXA
BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION
JP MORGAN CHASE & COMPANY
NORTHERN TRUST CORPORATION
WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT COMPANY

State Street, JPMorgan, Northern Trust, Bank of New York Mellon are all holding these shares on behalf of pension fund clients. FMR and Vanguard are two of the largest mutual fund companies in the world, and a major investment source in 401(k) plans. The more profits Exxon Mobil makes, the higher its stock prices goes, and the more it increases its dividend, to the benefit of the major holders of its stock.

To your idea, an executive order as laid out here would be disasterous for our financial industry. Capitalism is smarter than regulation. Limiting who could, and could not, trade oil futures in the U.S. would only serve to drive speculatory capital to alternative venues. The DIFX has long eyed the trading of oil contracts, and with such a decree, an oil market would open virtually overnight.