Leadership on empty

President Bush summed up his administration's leadership on energy policy with a few words of advice: Buy a fuel-efficient foreign car.

The best his White House team can muster in the face of soaring gasoline prices is a rollback of environmental regulations in hopes of squeezing a few more gallons out of refineries. Pinching back regulations — clean air, clean water, forest practices — has been Bush's default position on the environment throughout his presidency. Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is not a viable energy policy. The president's recommendation for America's next new car purchase is good news for Honda and Toyota, but is a troubling reminder of missed opportunities at home. U.S.-bred technological innovations and inspiration? No, think tax credits.

The White House, and Republicans in Congress, have offered no national leadership on conservation and increased mileage for the cars consuming the expensive oil imported from around the world. America has an oil addiction that reduces our influence in the world, the president opined. And he has done exactly what about it?

Our war in Iraq and his war of words with Iran have sufficiently rattled global oil markets to drive up prices over worries about continued access to those supplies. Fears of instability — and the impact on calculations of the cost of doing business — translate into an expensive penalty at the gas pump for consumers.

The cost of gasoline is affecting more than household finances. Bush cancelled deposits into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to keep more oil in domestic circulation. The SPR is the nation's savings account for an oil emergency.

One of the more curious attempts by the White House to point in another direction is to suggest that China's growing thirst for oil is a factor in the current run-up in prices. The Chinese use about 6 million barrels a day, compared with the 20 million barrels downed by Americans. Certainly, the Chinese have economic aspirations that will only make them greater competitors for world petroleum supplies.

So the question rises once again: Beyond viewing the situation with alarm, does the Bush administration have any ideas for making the United States less dependent on oil? Beyond those that make Japanese automakers smile, apparently not.