As the price of oil creeps beyond $4 per gallon, Americans struggle to reorient their driving habits and wonder whether this crisis has an end. Experts say that high fuel prices are here to stay.

This poses severe challenges for the U.S. economy, but it does not necessarily mean an end to the era when the U.S. standard of living was the envy of the world. The question is whether Americans, and particularly our leaders, are prepared to do what it takes to cope with the new reality of high-fuel costs. So far the answers haven't been reassuring.

• Just weeks ago, two presidential candidates — Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. John McCain — advocated a suspension of the federal tax on gasoline as a quick and easy way to ease the burden of high prices.

• Congress probably won't fall for that gimmick, but it eagerly approved another pointless measure, forcing the president to suspend deliveries to the oil reserve that represents our national fuel piggy bank.

• Lawmakers followed that up by hauling energy company executives before Congress and berating them for their greed, short-sightedness, lack of patriotism and so forth.

None of this is likely to make a dime's worth of difference to motorists. What these actions have in common is an excess of political posturing and an absence of political resolve. Grilling oil-company executives in front of the cameras makes for good theater, but it is not going to squeeze a single extra drop of fuel out of their refineries or contribute to a long-term solution.

The lesson is already sinking in. Mass-transportation systems are recording increases in ridership.

The lesson is to beware of political leaders offering easy solutions. Readjusting the U.S. economy and lifestyle to an era of high prices for fuel won't take place without pain. Yet it is remarkable how few leaders are willing to call for sacrifice and lay out a plan for making the transition. Perhaps that's because the electorate hasn't been kind to political leaders who chastise our profligate habits.

Nearly 30 years ago, President Jimmy Carter put the issue squarely before us at a time when high oil prices — artificially induced by OPEC, at that time — were crippling the U.S. economy. Mr. Carter called for an end to "this intolerable dependence on foreign oil" and asked people to take conservation seriously.

Among other things, he urged drivers to switch to public transportation or use carpools, to adjust their thermostats at home, to take no unnecessary trips, to leave their cars at home for at least one workday per week. He proposed legislation that would have placed a mandatory cap on the amount of oil used to generate power.

The speech went over like a lead balloon, and the following year Carter lost the contest for a second term. Many other factors led to the electoral loss, but his "malaise" speech was widely lampooned and contributed to Carter's unpopularity. Ever since, our political leaders have been reluctant to call for these kinds of sacrifices.

The latest crisis offers another, once-in-a-generation "teachable moment." For some, the lesson is already sinking in. Urban mass-transportation systems are recording sharp increases in ridership, and Detroit is scaling back on production of gas-guzzlers while plunging ahead with innovations like electric-powered cars. These car manufacturers and drivers get the point — cheap fuel prices are not our national birthright.

It is up to the next president and allies in Congress to take advantage of this opportunity to wean the country away from "the intolerable dependence on foreign oil." A generation has been lost in the vain search for easy solutions.

This time, it appears that the days of cheap oil really are over. The wisest leaders are those who can lead the way to a future that does not hold America's destiny hostage to the whims of the international oil market.