At the same time Bush made that announcement. Democratic leaders announced plans to crack down on speculators. Obama talked about releasing oil from the Petroleum reserve.
But somehow Mr. Cause and Effect here is sure its all about Bush finally doing something he was promising to do for seven years."

July 14, 2008
    Bush "has decided to lift the executive ban on oil exploration in America's Outer Continental Shelf," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told a news briefing. She said Bush would explain the move in a Rose Garden statement at 1:30 p.m..

July 15th
at a news conference, Bush repeated his new position, and slammed the Democratic Congress for not removing the congressional moratorium on the Outer Continental Shelf and elsewhere. Crude-oil futures for August delivery plunged $9.26, or 6.3 percent, almost immediately as Bush was speaking,

July 16, 2008
Oil tumbles again; prices fall over $10 in 2 days Oil prices have settled sharply lower for the second straight day, capping a dizzying drop that has left crude more than $10 cheaper in just two days of frenzied trading. The drop follows a $6.44 sell-off Tuesday, meaning prices have plummeted over $10 since Monday.

22 Jul 2008 ... WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Legislation meant to crack down on oil speculators passed a key test vote in the Senate on Tuesday. ...

August 5 2008
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has called for the US to dip into its strategic oil reserves to lower fuel prices in the short-term. Senator Obama's call, a reversal of his earlier stance, came as he unveiled an energy plan designed, he said, to reduce US dependence on foreign oil.

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"Democratic leaders announced plans to crack down on speculators."

Monday, July 14, 2008

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, back from the Fourth of July break last week, delivered a typical harangue on Republican obstructionism and Democratic virtue that included a promise: By week's end, he would show Republicans his proposal to deal with "this speculation thing" that he calls the root cause of $4-a-gallon gasoline. It would attempt "to end speculation on the oil markets."

By Friday, Republicans had seen nothing of Reid's plan because of internal Democratic disagreement on details.