Congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama for his unsurprising victory after an unusually long and unusually bitter campaign. Many campaigners and analysts kept promising energy would be a major election issue, but the closest the candidates came to a real energy debate were the clouds of smoke each generated.Both pledged to work for energy independence, an objective that those in the energy business know is not possible in 10-20 years and is perhaps not even desirable. Would US voters pay more for homegrown energy if cheaper foreign supplies were available? Not likely.Back in the 1950s when independent producers and governors of oil-producing states testified that increased imports...