Bush and Big Oil

Gov. Paterson renewed his call for a summer gas tax holiday. Senator Bruno drove a 13-gear diesel truck around the Capital.
Both actions provided nice media sound bites. Both were full of sound and fury. Both signified nothing.
The gas tax holiday is DOA. It was always a popular soundbite for politicos, but bad public policy. As some suggested, it's putting a band-aid over a tumor.
Bush's call for off-shore drilling is another sign of the Bush and Big Oil synergy.This synergy is also displayed in the news that Big Oil is about to close a deal on Iraquie no-bid contracts. That was what our invasion of Iraq was mostly about. The major goal was to destroy Iraq's nationalized oil operations; and return it to a free market for Big Oil.
Even if the off-shore oil can be extracted, it would take 5-10 years minimum to begin refining it. It could, at most, supply our domestic needs for 3-5 yrs. at most. See yesterday's NYT good editorial on this.
Off-shore drilling and tax holidays are political pandering. Transforming leadership would guide us into a post-petroleum world. Oil is the antiquated past. Renewable energy is the future.
The hugh spike in oil and gas prices are a wakeup call. It's a call for all of us to become "masters of our domaine" (as those lovable Seinfeld characters would say).