Democrats are handing Republicans an issue that could decide the election. Now 75% of Americans favor immediately drilling here in America and 71% favor offshore drilling, according to a Fox News opinion poll. Americans reached a tipping point at $4 a gallon for gasoline, and we'll see $5 soon enough. Yet Mrs. Pelosi and Senator Majority Leader Reid are refusing to allow a vote.

Barack Obama's new commercial for energy policy shows his energy plan consisting of increasing mileage requirements on cars, regulating speculation in the markets, and taxing oil companies. None of that will address the supply shortfalls.

So Republicans for this year's election should adopt the "Do Everything Now" approach. They should be relentless in forcing these issues to votes in Congress. And the McCain campaign should talk about this issue every day.

The White House can force this issue to the next level and reshape the nation's debate. Congress is scheduled to go on vacation this Friday. As a writer for the Washington Post, Charles Krauthammer, suggested, the president should exercise his constitutional power to call Congress into special session for the sole purpose of voting on domestic oil exploration.

Democratic leaders will either be pressured to eventually allow a vote, in which case America can start increasing supply, or they will refuse, and make this a pivotal voting issue for millions of working-class Americans.

With quick action, America can lead the way in developing and exporting clean energy. And we will be able to export oil and coal - in increasingly clean forms - to the rest of the world. Millions of American jobs will be created, and our national security will be made more secure through energy independence.

That's an awfully ambitious plan. Only a president can marshal our nation for such a massive undertaking. And if Mr. McCain can lay out such an ambitious case to the American people, he just might become president.