Nation's Energy Policy Is 'Stuck In Neutral'

"Each party has repeatedly derailed the most ambitious proposals of the other...Conspicuously absent in the proposals Democrats released for responding to soaring prices was the most effective step Washington could take to protect Americans from rising fuel costs and reduce dependence on foreign oil: mandating that the auto companies significantly improve the fuel economy of their cars and trucks...It isn't a shortage of good ideas; it's a refusal to accept the political risks that could advance those ideas...After initially emphasizing drilling, even Bush is edging toward a broader strategy...Small-government ideology and Big Energy loyalties still cramp his thinking."