He also ignores a basic fact: the reason so many Democrats are ripping the President is because they HATE CAPITALISM. The American people are upset over gas prices, but by and large the VOTING public--the investor class---can understand (if explained to them)why prices are so high.
The anti-capitalist/socialists and the general public right now are in general agreement: high gas prices aren't a good thing. But that agreement stems from DIFFERENT GOALS.
The Chuck Schumers of the world want to give control of the commodity to a government bureaucracy...the people want to get more gas at a cheaper price so they can spend more money at WAL-MART.
The challenge for conservatism is to make this an opportunity to educate our fellow citizens about how important it is to get more oil from our own resources, cut government's "take" on our energy resources (EPA regulations and taxes), and get new viable sources of energy moving again: clean coal and nuclear power, for instance.
Bush has ben leading on this isse for six years. But the stupid DNC warroom has emphasized supposed secrecy of Cheney task force instead of substance. I think the American people are being sold short by all this demagogery from pols, media, and pundits. We don't need all this hype.