The Closer, Part I, T+27 -- February 16, 2017

Tight Oil. CNBC: US shale producers export record 1 million barrels of oil per day to world market as OPEC cuts back. Link here. This is an incredibly important article. Later, I will post an article that completely misreads the "Bakken" phenomenon. This CNBC article gets it just right.

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Finally

The Dow Jones eked out another record today.

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He's Back

The full press conference, an hour and seventeen minutes. It will be hard to beat this press conference:

Finally, adult leadership we can trust. From today's transcript:

THE PRESIDENT: A lot of people aren’t happy with it. In fact, I’ll be in Melbourne, Florida, five o’clock on Saturday (see The Washington Post story linked below) —
RUSH: He really launched into them.
THE PRESIDENT: — and I heard — just heard — that the crowds are massive that want to be there. I turned on the TV, opened the newspapers, and I see stories of chaos. Chaos! Yet it is the exact opposite. This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine —
RUSH: (laughing)
THE PRESIDENT: — despite the fact that I can’t get my cabinet approved, and they’re outstanding people. Like Senator Dan Coats, who is there, one of the most respected men of the Senate. He can’t get approved. How do you not approve him? He’s been a colleague highly respected, brilliant guy, great guy. Everybody knows him. We’re waiting for approval. So we have a wonderful group of people that’s working very hard, that’s being very much misrepresented about, and we can’t let that happen.

What were Obama and Bush doing? This guy works 24/7. One wonders what Presidents Bush and Obama did with all their time.

Eyes wide shut. From The Washington Post: Trump family's elaborate lifestyle is a "logistical nightmare" -- at taxpayer expense. How many overseas vacations did Michelle and daughters take? How many trips out to California? How many trips out to Hawaii? Reagan's White House? How many weekends did Obama spend golfing? [One reminder: Michelle took a trip by herself -- by herself -- to Morocco where, during her vacation, gave $450 million to the country to educate women. Money is fungible. No one has any idea where that money ended up.]

White House running like a fine-tuned machine. The great thing is that when Trump leaves Washington, DC, he leaves guys like VP Mike Pence and Chief Strategist Steve Bannon in charge. Bannon is quickly and quietly becoming the most powerful person in the White House. Because of Chuck Schumer, Donald Trump has had to run the executive branch by himself for the past four weeks, and Trump has done quite well. Surprised everyone. Imagine what this guy is going to do one he has his full cabinet. His expensive trips to Florida -- at taxpayer expense -- will re-charge his batteries.

End Of Part I.