President's energy policy should be consistent

A national energy policy isn't national and isn't a policy if it is subject to the kind of whimsy seen in President Bush's recent move to restrict oil and gas drilling in and around Florida.
Do the shores of Florida deserve more protection than those of Louisiana or California? Do the swamps of Florida deserve more protection than the tundra of Alaska?
Those are obvious questions for anyone to ask. Already, environmentalists in California are virtually screaming "Me too." But it seems unlikely that California Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, will find the same sympathetic ear at the White House as did Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Davis has the misfortune of not being a Republican and not being the brother of the president. And he is about to get a lesson in life: Blood is thick than oil.
Since Day One, the administration has been ready to sacrifice the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on the altar of national energy independence. The argument was made even more forcefully after Sept. 11. And perhaps an argument can be made for opening up new fields in Alaska, although those against drilling cite figures that show the ANWR yield to be questionable, while those in favor have figures showing it would be significant.
But it's difficult to see how it can be vitally necessary to national security to drill in Alaska and vitally necessary not to drill along the Florida shoreline and in the Florida Everglades.
Buying back oil isn't cheap
Yet, the president last week pledged to spend $235 million of the taxpayers money to buy back oil and gas drilling leases in and around Florida.
President Bush ran on a campaign promise to return integrity to the White House. It is clear that most Americans believed him then and believe him now. They want to believe him, especially at a time when the nation is attempting to protect itself from random acts of violence by sworn enemies.
But to maintain that level of trust, the president is going to have to show more consistency than can be seen in the Florida energy lease deal.
A Scripps Howard editorial described the president's action as a win-win-win proposition. "Bush thanked the state that finally put him in the White House and may be called on to do so again in 2004; he boosted the re-election chances of his brother Jeb, the state's governor; and he firmed up his own rather shaky environmental credentials."
While that may be true in the short run, in the long run he must show that he is prepared to treat all states equally. We suspect he is going to be hard-pressed to do that.
The president is spending $235 million to ingratiate himself with the voters of Florida, but he's spending valuable political capital in the rest of the nation.