Wow, the NYT finally pointed this out, except it was in an oped column, which interestingly enough was co-authored by Robert Hahn, a conservative economist at the American Enterprise Institute. The argument in the piece is interesting: everyone thinks that drilling will matter, so give them what they want, and then do real energy policy. Maybe that makes sense given the incompetence of the media, but why can't the media report the reality that every energy expert knows -- drilling won't lower prices in any substantial way.
--Dean Baker