DEALING WITH SKYROCKETING oil and gasoline prices, and our dependence on foreign petroleum requires thoughtful policy decisions based on a firm understanding of economics. Unfortunately, we are getting little intelligent discussion of the issue from the leading presidential candidates.

We criticized Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain for promoting a senseless and counterproductive suspension of the federal gasoline tax over the summer.

But there is a far worse example of gas-price pandering from both Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama. They, along with some members of Congress, are touting an "excess profits" tax on large oil companies.

They understand that many Americans would like to place the blame for high gasoline prices primarily on big U.S. oil firms. Apparently, that is why Obama, Clinton and some of their Democratic colleagues are using oil companies as scapegoats.

What the candidates should understand by now is that boosting taxes on oil firms would discourage exploration, increase our dependence on foreign supplies and increase prices even further.

That is what happened the last time "excess profit" taxes were levied against Big Oil in 1980. A decade later, the Congressional Research Service determined that the 1980 tax reduced domestic oil production by 3 percent to 6 percent and boosted oil imports by 8 percent to 16 percent.

Why do it again? The federal government

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already gets a 35 percent corporate income tax, but that is not enough for advocates of an "excess profits" levy.

One has to wonder just what "excess" profits are. During the past year, oil company profits have been abnormally high at 8.3 percent of investment. That compares with an average of 7.8 percent for all American industries.

While the dollar amount of oil company profits is indeed huge, the profit margin is in line with other industries.

Over the past several decades, oil company profit margins have been below the national average for all industries.

The best way to attack high oil and gasoline prices is to reduce demand through fuel efficiency and alternative fuels, and to increase supplies without long-term environmental damage.

Raising taxes on oil profits does none of the above. It makes sense to end any remaining government subsidies for oil firms. But an additional tax on oil firm profits, which are in line with other industries, would be counterproductive.

The American people want and deserve effective energy policy ideas from their presidential candidates.

They're still waiting.