Hilzoy criticizes John McCain for asking congress to work overtime to "solve" the "energy crisis". This misses the more important point, which is that John McCain is dead wrong. He couldn't be wronger if he were wearing white shoes and pants after Labor Day--in a coal mine. Any true conservative should instinctively understand that the best way for Congress to help the American people is to stop doing more stuff. We're having enough trouble dealing with the stuff they've already done. Moreover, oil is already down about 20% off its peak without any government intervention at all. It's almost as if there were something--let's call it a "market"--that was capable of adjusting demand to match supply.

Whenever a proper conservative hears about a government plan to "fix" the market, this should immediately call to mind Tom Lehrer's line about another sort of government intervention:

"Let's make peace . . . the way they did in Stanleyville and Saigon"



