How much more unjustified publicity is CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler going to reap for his supposedly firm stance against out-of-control commodities speculators?

Today, during the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's first hearing this summer, Gensler averred that his agency must "seriously consider" new limits on traders who place bets on energy contracts. The NY Times dutifully reported that that means regulators "turned up the heat" on Wall Street.

But parts of the hearing were such an exercise in PR that at one point the CFTC's general counsel advised the commission that, yes, it does have the power to set position limits. As if that were some key piece of news to Gensler. All of this is just for public consumption. There's little evidence yet that Barack Obama's crew is serious about cracking down on Wall Street's excesses. (More on the hearing here.)

For a change, loudmouth Jim Cramer is on the money when he calls the oil futures market "a total farce," a "fee machine," and a "hedge-fund playground."

The Street shudders at the very thought of regulating derivatives and other financial instruments, but its denizens don't really have anything to worry about with Gensler. A decade ago, Gensler, a former Goldman Sachs banker, fought against the regulation of credit default swaps. He hasn't done anything since to convince anyone that he's serious about regulation.

The WashPost's Zachary A. Goldfarb gave us a history lesson on Gensler last Friday that insisted Gensler is really now interested in tightening regulations. Good article, but that point — "Once an Opponent of Monitoring Derivatives, CFTC Chief Now Urges Tighter Rules" —isn't very well backed up.

The other key new regulator of the Street, namby-pamby SEC Chair Mary Schapiro, is notorious for having been soft on Wall Street miscreants. See the WSJ's story last January on Schapiro, which dubbed her "a regulator with a light touch."