If the war over energy policy -- particularly miles-per-gallon (know in insider jargon as CAFE standards) -- was determined by newspaper editorials, today we would proclaim victory. The drumbeat of support has grown louder and louder, and now even papers I wouldn't have bet a nickel on supporting us are coming out squarely in our corner.

Today I was blown away by this from The Virginian-Pilot (not your NYT/Boston Globe/Northeastern Liberal broadsheet mind you):

Gutting the CAFE standard would be nothing more than a protectionist payoff designed to shield American car companies. It would allow American automakers to continue the kind of business as usual that is killing them and driving their customers into cars made by foreign companies. It would make Congress an enabler of lazy corporate misfeasance, the kind that led to the shutdown of Norfolk's Ford plant, and do nothing to encourage competition or wean America from its dependence on foreign oil.

So, if this is so clear to us, clear even to newspapers in places where everyone still drives American cars, then why isn't it clear to the distinguished members of the US Senate? The answer is, they're not looking at what's clear, what makes sense, or even what's best for America. They're involved in an old-fashioned political showdown. It's not even along party lines. It's about power and outdated assumptions about what will make life in America better. And it's a damn shame.

Hypothetical vote counts are clogging my inbox every two minutes. Last-ditch phone calls are being placed by both sides. One of two things will happen: Americans will start driving cars that go farther on a gallon of gas OR we will slide deeper into the addiction that keeps us beholden to the Middle East and insures our own environmental ruin. Which would you choose? Stay tuned!