I'm just flummoxed by those who see the Republicans on the winning side of the energy issue, because they are for offshore drilling and drilling in ANWR. Those positions are wrong, wrong, and wrong.

Yes, I know that polling about domestic drilling has been running in that direction, and I concede that the easier political strategy was to follow along. Still-president Bush chose the easy way when he lifted the executive ban on offshore drilling, and McCain joined right in behind. (Hillary's best line last night (paraphrased): It's fitting that Bush and McCain will be in the Twin Cities next week, because you can hardly tell them apart.)

But it is vacant, crass pandering, and classic abdication of leadership.

On this issue, the people are wrong. Drilling won't help in any substantive way. If the people need a feel-good energy bump, how about someone standing up and pointing toward the new way?

Much earlier in the year, I cited Obama's leadership potential as my primary reason for supporting him. When Republicans mock him as an empty-suit celeb whose policies are just like all the other lefties, they miss this point horribly.

In the recent past, however, Obama has been looking pretty standard-issue pol — not only on drilling but on FISA. Certainly, Obama didn't get to the brink of nomination by being politically deaf, and he has apparently decided this is a place to bob and weave, rather than bluntly point out the fallacy of the people's reasoning.

This is when a leader would stand up and say, "this is not the right way to get what we want. I want energy security just like everyone else, but this is not the way to get there. Here's how we're going to do it. We're going to rely on American innovation, and then we're going to prosper by building new American industries focused on renewable energy. Where it will most help, we'll tailor our tax policies to encourage these innovators, to get us to our new energy future sooner — what better investment in our public welfare could we possibly make?"

Whoever gets the stones to ignore the polls and point the way — this pol will own the energy issue.