In his 2006 State of the Union address, George W. Bush formally acknowledged what many have said: We are addicted to oil. Two years later, we are going through the shudders and heaves of an addict in withdrawal.

With the triple shocks of higher heating, food and gasoline prices – all linked to the unprecedented runup in oil prices – many Americans are feeling the pain.

More money for fuel means less money for other things in the family budget, such as eating out or taking a summer vacation – consumer cutbacks which have set in motion a general slowdown in business activity.

The president’s words were right in 2006, and his program was ambitious: to replace 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025.

“By applying the talent and technology of America, this country can dramatically improve our environment, move beyond a petroleum-based economy, and make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past.”

The line drew a standing ovation.

Unfortunately, the crisis has come much more quickly than expected, and we no longer have the leisure of waiting until 2025.

That’s why U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska, have called for a national bi-partisan summit to develop a plan to address the crisis.

Many have proposed a Manhattan Project for energy development, suggesting the intense technical effort launched during World War II to develop the atomic bomb.

But White House Spokesman Tony Fratto dismissed the idea of a summit in an interview last week. Instead, Fratto renewed the White House call for Congress to approve the president’s plan to lift the embargoes on drilling in Alaska, and off the East and West coasts of the U.S.

“This is simple economics – there is not enough supply to meet demand,” Fratto said.

Yes, the crisis is about supply and demand, but the solution is far from simple.

The U.S. Energy Department estimates that drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge could supply enough oil to cut four cents from the price of a gallon of gas. Four cents is good, but that oil wouldn’t flow for 20 years.

Drilling off the coasts of New England, Florida and California might cut a few more pennies but, again, not for a decade or more.

There are two simple facts about supply and demand:

• First, Americans use 25 percent of the world’s oil, but we are sitting on only 3 percent of the world’s reserves.

• Second, oil pumped from the Gulf of Maine wouldn’t necessarily go into the tanks of New England’s cars. It would become part of the world’s pool of oil sold to the highest bidder.

In effect, the U.S. would be putting a few drops into a very large bucket.

There are ideas for building a more sustainable future, from nuclear power to solar cars, but we desperately need a coherent national plan, and we need it soon.

The Snowe-Nelson summit might not be the full answer, but it’s a step in that direction.