The US oil and gas industry will enter 2009 needing to play hard political defense. With Democrats in charge of both Congress and the White House and the public largely unhinged about energy, the industry will fall under assault on many fronts, including taxation and access to federal land. Opportunities to take the offense will be rare. The industry must take advantage of every one that arises.An offensive move the industry can seize now relates to energy independence. The industry should start an immediate campaign to repudiate this chimera, which has seduced the US into too many mistakes already and promises to open an entire catalog of horrors next year. Before the damage gets any wor...