The corner has posted a letter from majority “leaders” Frist and Hastert to the president concerning the high price of gasoline. What do congressman Hastert and Senator Frist propose we do about this issue? Wait for it…

we believe that Federal law enforcement agencies and regulators should take every available step to ensure that all Federal laws protecting American consumers from price-fixing, collusion, gouging and other anti-competitive practices are vigorously enforced.

We respectfully request that you direct the Attorney General and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission to investigate any potential collusion, price-fixing or gouging in the sale or distribution of gasoline, petroleum distillates or ethanol in wholesale and retail markets. We further request that scrutiny be directed to refining, the transportation of fuel by pipelines, marine vessels and trucks, storage and marketing activities and retail practices to determine if there is any unlawful manipulation of the price of gasoline. Sweeps of retail distribution centers should be undertaken to ensure that retail price movements are in response to a change in market conditions and not price gouging. Finally, we recommend that the Federal Trade Commission examine whether spot shortages of gasoline are the result of illegal efforts to manipulate prices.

Given the severity of the current situation regarding gas prices, we believe that the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission should devote all necessary resources to expedited review of complaints of price gouging against wholesalers or retailers of gasoline and other distillates.

Additionally, we request that you direct the Chairman of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to bring heightened scrutiny to the trading of energy futures and derivatives to determine whether spikes in prices of oil, gasoline and other petroleum distillates are a result of improper market manipulation by traders or by energy firms.

Translation: spend a bunch of time, money and resources and look like you’re doing something about the problem so that we can act in a similar manner. After all, we wouldn’t want those rubes to start thinking too hard about the relation between our mushrooming subsidies new ethanol mandates and the increased price at the pump, eh? What’s next? Drilling ANWR? Opening up the East and Gulf coasts and perhaps even the outer continental shelf to off-shore drilling? Eliminating the maze of environmental regulations that has prevented any new refineries from being built for decades? Can you imagine how the BANANAs will howl about that?!! God knows we all need to keep talking about the Evil Oil CompaniesTM so that our taxpayers don’t realize that we make more money off of every gallon of gas than any oil company ever does!

Just as the Democrats are reminding us of their fundamental unseriousness on National Security issues by rushing to defend Mary McCarthy the Republicans author this brilliant example of their blindingly arrogant and condescendingly pedantic idea of “leadership” so that they, too, can stand up and be counted among the ranks of the unfit to govern. Wonderful.

Update: Looks like Rich Lowry at NRO thought the same thing when he saw that letter. Right on.