Is it just me, or is it that these stories make it seem like the only way speculators 'speculate' in the market is by going long?
Seems like they are trying to tell you "too many speculators in the market naturally leads to higher prices". In that article Leiberman says 'we are seeing EXCESSIVE MARKET SPECULATION'. I think that's the biggest flaw with their logic. Speculators can go long or short. The number of speculators/participants should be irrelevant. If anything, you want to avoid not having ENOUGH speculators.
If prices are going higher there is another reason for it.