Want to take a real step to prevent gasoline
shortages and keep a lid on energy prices? Easing regulations on
refineries may sound good. But the Administration could make things
truly easier for refineries by requiring that the nation use just one
blend of fuel, instead of the current dozens that various states
require. Of course, that wouldn't be a hit in many of the red states,
which currently don't use the cleanest-burning fuels.
It would be a
bold step that would make a real difference, however. Want to
increase supplies of oil and gas? Instead of drilling in the ANWR or
adding a few LNG ports, Bush could open up areas like the Gulf coast
of Florida or the Rocky Mountains, which has a 60-year supply of
natural gas, to exploration and drilling. But that wouldn't be
popular in Florida, where his brother Jeb is governor, or in some of
the Western states that are strong Bush country. The President's
failure to propose any meaningful solutions, while claiming to do the
right thing for America makes it hard not to conclude that the
Administration's main goal is not energy independence, but rather
improving its standing the polls.
