Bill O'Reilly Defends Obama's Energy Policy

Ever since OAPEC's oil embargo in 1973, most Americans were made well aware of where the bulk of the world's oil supply comes from, and the United States gets most of theirs from Saudi Arabia. China gets most of their oil from Russia's state-owned oil companies.

While although Canada has the world's third largest oil reserve, if the market can bear $200 a barrel, why would they sell it to us for $100 a barrel if China was willing to pay $200? If domestic drilling produces more oil, but demand is down, how could that reduce the cost of gasoline if ExxonMobil can export oil for $200 a barrel to the booming economies of China, India, and Brazil?

And besides just global supply-and-demand, there's also speculation by the big banks and hedge funds that also drives the price of oil higher.

When Fox News' Bill O'Reilly said a politician is lying when they say they can bring down fuel prices, he must have been referring to Republican politicians such as Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich (two-dollars-and-fifty-cents-a-gallon).

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll found that nearly two-thirds of Americans say they disapprove of the way the president is responding to increasing gas costs. Why?

So then the White House unveiled a new report that boasts of the successes by the administration in making America more energy independent. (Personally, I think BIG OIL is trying to influence the 2012 elections.)

Under George W. Bush (on July 17, 2008) the average cost for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was at it highest level ever in U.S. history (at $4.11 a gallon). This was after a record peak of $145 for a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil.

Back then, a wide variety of Fox News figures were quick to push a simple message: "Don't blame the Bush administration." Indeed, Fox News was rather explicit on the issue, telling its viewers, "No president has the power to increase or to lower gas prices." (Full video here and embedded below)

Just compare what Fox News had said then to what Obama has been doing since that time, all the way up until today. Fox News would have been defending Obama today...so why are they instead criticizing him?

As of this post today the current average cost for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.80, which is still 31¢ a gallon less than when it had peaked under George W. Bush almost 4 years ago. (West Texas Intermediate crude oil is currently at $106 a barrel. It had peaked at $145 under Bush).

So why aren't Americans polled by the Washington Post-ABC News poll understanding this? Profits drive the global market's price for oil and gasoline prices, not Obama's energy policy. A pipeline from Canada to import 750,000 barrels of oil a day to U.S. refineries won't affect world prices; but nationalizing our oil and gas companies would subsidize and lower our domestic fuel prices. (That's way gasoline in China is $2.50 gallon today.)

MSNBC's Ed Schultz attacked Bill O'Reilly after the Fox News host clashed with Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar about gas prices on morning show The View. Ed Schultz defies Bill O'Reilly to play this clip on Fox News and defend it.

Also read: Obama Goes On Offense About Gas Prices, Reliance On Foreign Oil