Hello, Mr. Chips.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)

Energy Policy: President Bush once touted oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a top priority. But now he wants to power the world's largest economy by turning switch grass into ethanol.

In a January 2002 meeting with leaders of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Bush touted energy independence in a slightly different way than he did in his 2006 State of the Union address.

"This energy bill that we're working on is a jobs bill," he told the Teamsters. "And when we explore for power, U.S. power, U.S. energy in ANWR, we're not only helping us become less dependent on foreign sources of crude oil and foreign sources of energy, we're creating jobs for American workers, jobs so that men and women can put food on the table."

The National Security Act of 2001 that Teamsters President James Hoffa enthusiastically embraced included authorization for oil and gas exploration on the coastal plain of ANWR, in an area one-fifth the size of Reagan International Airport in Washington, D.C. It would create directly and indirectly about 735,000 jobs, with 25,000 new jobs just for Alaska Teamsters.

But in the 2006 State of the Union, there was nary a word about ANWR, which would produce oil worth $650 billion at current prices, or about developing any of America's vast undeveloped oil and natural gas resources.

We are not against developing "alternative energy" sources, as long as they are economically competitive and viable. Someday these sources may make a significant contribution to our energy mix. But Washington does not have a good record of picking winners and losers in industry or technology.

Thugs like Iran's Ahmadinejad and Venezuela's Chavez will not wait while we develop hydrogen-fueled autos. And the market is best at deciding these things. Meeting our growing energy needs should not be an either/or choice between oil and ethanol from wood chips or ...