Lost in the breathless media coverage of Iran and the Strait of Hormuz is a critical reality that too many politicians, activists and talking heads prefer to ignore: Record U.S. oil and natural gas production has helped keep a historic supply disruption from becoming a far worse price shock. American energy leadership still matters. And if we want it to keep mattering, we need to stop shooting ourselves in the foot.

Oil prices can move in seconds on a tweet or a missile launch. Tankers, refineries, pipelines, and the trucks that deliver fuel to your local station move in weeks. That is why lower crude prices do not instantly appear at the pump. A functioning physical market is not “price gouging.” That’s just reality.

Anyone who has spent five minutes around the actual logistics of the energy business understands this. The rest are either willfully ignorant or busy manufacturing outrage for the next election cycle.

Producing more energy is only part of the job — the process of getting that production to market is incredibly complex and capital intensive. Despite its current record production levels, the U.S. industry still faces myriad challenges amid government roadblocks and supply chain........

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