Can the politicians really be blamed? If you believe they should be altruistic and held to a higher standard perhaps. But remember house members have to get elected every two years. Their constituencies may not be the smartest but even those with poor memories remember events less than two years out. They are merely following their incentives of being elected.

Perhaps if we cut congressional salaries to 50k/year it would weed out those people who are just in it for a posh life and hefty remuneration. Why is it that teachers/firemen/police and the military are the only public servants that aren't compensated much because as public officials we don't want to attract people to those careers who are focused solely on money?

On the $6/gallon--its coming. It may be a few years out, but I don't see massive hybrid or plugin adoption in time for $200/barrel oil. I'd rather us get there gradually rather than suddenly to at least allow some time for R&D and preparation of alternatives.