'Gas-Tax Holiday' Would Be No Vacation

He also notes that pollution problems are often worse during the summer.

"That may be exactly the wrong time to increase demand for gasoline by cutting taxes," he says.

Then, there's Sen. Clinton's proposed windfall tax on oil company profits: Would my family ultimately end up paying for a piece of this, too, when we fill up our minivan?

Too many politicians know just the right phrases, such as "gas-tax holiday," to make Americans feel good. But the economics of gas prices require a far more complicated analysis than a two-second sound bite can convey.

True leadership regarding gas prices, I think, means advocating fuel conservation and asking Americans to suck it up in a different way -- not by driving, but by staying home.