I’m sympathetic to the humble argument at the core of Friedman’s hysterical column (It’s behind the Times-Select firewall so I got it from Lexis-Nexis). I think the strict free market model is unsatisfactory when discussing oil because, as Friedman notes, it tends to fund bad regimes and skew our foreign policy in ways that can and should be remedied. That said, I don’t think the public policy solutions out there are all that encouraging.

Regardless, in the past, Friedman has struck a reasonable tone on this sort of thing. No more. Here’s how he concludes a column on the State of the Union Bush should deliver:

Transportation accounts for most of our oil consumption. And many Americans have purchased big cars and S.U.V.’s, expecting gasoline to remain cheap. That is no longer the case. Therefore, I propose creating a government agency that will buy up any gas-guzzling car or truck in America at the original new or used price, and crush it. This national buy-back program will be financed by a $2-a-gallon gasoline tax that will be phased in by 10 cents a month beginning in 2008 — so people know what is coming and start buying fuel-efficient cars right now.
By removing so many gas guzzlers, we will quickly reduce our oil consumption and create a huge demand for new energy-efficient cars from Detroit, which will rescue our auto industry. We have to do something drastic. The Harley-Davidson motorcycle company is worth more today than General Motors! But by sharply raising the gasoline tax, we’ll also make sure that Detroit shifts its fleet to energy-saving plug-in hybrids and hydrogen- and ethanol-fueled vehicles, which will force Detroit to out-innovate Toyota. And by generating so much income from a gasoline tax, we will be able to give gas-tax rebates to lower-income folks and have plenty left over to pay for new investment in education and scientific research.
Impossible? Read my lips: Nothing is impossible when Americans put their hearts and minds to it.
One last thing: I have accepted the resignation of Vice President Dick Cheney, who felt he could not be a salesman for the Energy Freedom Act. I am nominating Jeffrey Immelt — the C.E.O. of General Electric, who has focused G.E.’s innovation around ”eco-imagination” — as Mr. Cheney’s replacement.