I completely agree with you Ido that because it was bad anyway (getting gas then), it could have been the start of trying to get us off the gas dependancy. But then again, I think that may have been a hard sell at the time to a very unhappy population.

As much as I hate to channel my inner Rahm Emanuel image, I agree that often a crisis does offer the greatest opportunity.

A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.-- Thomas Jefferson