Do as I say, not as I drive

Oh, dear. When will politicians ever learn that the little things, the details, are what causes their downfall?
A bunch of Democrats decided to hold a small press conference at a Capitol Hill Exxon station, where the price for regular unleaded is $3.10. (Here in my neighborhood, regular is $3.35.) They gathered to point fingers at oil men Bush and Cheney.
I’ve been to that Exxon station, it is about a block away from the Senate office buildings, and something like four blocks from the Capitol itself.
And did they demonstrate a spirit of conservation, an example for Americans who are guzzling gas like it was cappuccino?
Well, Barbara Boxer of California drove in a Chrysler LHS to go one block. Charles Schumer drove in a Hyundai Elantra.
And more:

At about the same time, House Republicans were meeting in the Capitol for their weekly caucus (Topic A: gas). The House driveway was jammed with cars, many idling, including eight Chevrolet Suburbans (14 mpg).

… After lunchtime votes, senators emerged from the Capitol for the drive across the street to their offices.

Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) hopped in a GMC Yukon (14 mpg). Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) climbed aboard a Nissan Pathfinder (15). Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) stepped into an eight-cylinder Ford Explorer (14). Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) disappeared into a Lincoln Town Car (17). Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) met up with an idling Chrysler minivan (18).

Next came Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), greeted by a Ford Explorer XLT. On the Senate floor Tuesday, Menendez had complained that Bush “remains opposed to higher fuel-efficiency standards.”

Also waiting: three Suburbans, a Nissan Armada V8, two Cadillacs and a Lexus. The greenest senator was Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), who was picked up by his hybrid Toyota Prius (60 mpg), at quadruple the fuel efficiency of his Indiana counterpart Evan Bayh (D), who was met by a Dodge Durango V8 (14).

It’s worth noting also that there is a subway system connecting the Capitol with the office buildings, reserved solely for use of members of Congress, and free of charge.