How Not to Kick an Addiction

For those of you around the world who could stay up late enough to watch President Bush’s State of the Union on Tuesday, it was some great theatre. The President correctly pointed out that “America is addicted to oil”, but fell well short of offering any type of real solutions that would actually move the United States closer to anything resembling energy independence. In summary, the President’s principal aim is not to reduce demand for oil, but to “make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past.” This 30 year mantra has been repeatedly uttered by nearly every president since the oil crisis in 1973.