Don’t take this personally, but plenty of Democrats and Republicans think Americans are pretty ignorant when it comes to oil.

The politicians realize that far too many Americans are used to cheap gasoline, like to drive big vehicles, take dim views of conservation and think alternative energy is still Buck Rogers fantasy material.

For example:

On Wednesday, GOP leaders repeated their irresponsible challenge to Democrats to come back to Washington right now to vote on a bill that would allow expanded drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf, all supposedly to slash gasoline prices.

This incessant drill-now whining from Republicans and far too many followers across the country ignores key facts.

No. 1: There isn’t that much oil on the shelf where President Bush wants to remove drilling restrictions. Experts predict 18 billion barrels might be there, which could provide 1 million barrels of crude a day, or 5 percent of the nation’s appetite. While that would affect prices a bit, it wouldn’t lead to a wholesale swoon.

No. 2: The crude wouldn’t get to the pumps in the form of gasoline for five years (at the shortest) to 10 years (which is more likely, given all the regulatory, financial and construction hurdles faced in offshore drilling).

No. 3: The oil companies aren’t even making promises that they would drop everything and hurry to drill there. Don’t be shocked, but the industry actually wants to make money. It realizes that the costs of exploration and drilling might or might not be sustainable, depending on what happens to future oil prices.

While drilling for crude in previously protected areas is worth considering, it by no means is worth rushing to willy-nilly embrace in the heat of the 2008 campaign season.

Democrats often aren’t any better than their GOP colleagues, however.

Democratic leaders such as U.S. Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts – chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming – are out and about taking credit for boosting the fuel efficiency of future new vehicles.

True, Congress finally passed a bill requiring higher gas mileage years from now.

Yet this is the same party that routinely failed – when Bill Clinton was president and when the Democrats controlled Congress – to boost fuel efficiency standards at different points over the past quarter-century.

Meanwhile, many politicians of both parties still go along with imposing a tariff on imported ethanol while excessively subsidizing corn ethanol with tax dollars, all to keep Midwestern farmers happy.

The result: Cheaper cellulosic ethanol is kept out of our markets, boosting sales of corn ethanol that knocks down a vehicle’s miles per gallon.

Finally, a number of politicians support pulling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which supposedly would cut prices at the pump. It’s a short-sighted idea, one President Bush has wisely resisted.

The reserve is for real national emergencies – like a terrorist attack or an abrupt end to imported oil – not just to make it cheaper for Americans to drive around in SUVs.

Many Democrats and Republicans will do and say anything to make it appear they’re trying to bring down gasoline prices – even if most of their ideas are foolish, especially when stacked up against better solutions (you knew this was coming):

Drive fewer miles. Drive smaller vehicles. Invest in alternative energy to replace fossil fuels.

It’s a simple recipe for success in cutting fuel consumption – and prices.

But given recent history, count on plenty of politicians to continue to support risky oil exploration, embrace costly ethanol subsidies and try to supply Americans with cheap gasoline.

Yael T. Abouhalkah is a member of the Kansas City Star editorial board. Readers may write to him at: Kansas City Star, 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. 64108-1413, or by e-mail at abouhalkahkcstar.com.