But the fleeting appearance of Senators named Obama and Clinton underscored that the rising cost of gasoline remains one of chief issues for voters and candidates alike.

How to "fix" that gas price problem is of course what splits the two parties.

Most Republicans were unable to resist a plan floated by Democrats to suspend - until the end of this year - the daily purchases by the federal government to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

"The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is 97 percent filled," protested Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND.)

"Why on Earth should we be putting oil underground at a time of record high prices?" Dorgan asked the Senate.

Only one Republican summoned the election year courage to vote against the bill in the Senate, even though most in the GOP predicted it would do little to alter the supply and demand curve when it comes to oil and gasoline.

That one GOP Senator was Wayne Allard of Colorado, who is not running for re-election (not exactly a profile in courage, eh?)

Over in the House, the debate and outcome was much the same. Most Republicans were wringing their hands and demanding concrete action on opening up US energy reserves, but few dared vote against a plan that might be seen as a step in the right direction by the voters back home.

The House tally was 385 to 25, with more conservative Republicans making up the majority of the nay votes, as they argued the bill was nothing more than cheap politics.

Of course, in an election year, one man's cheap politics is another candidate's formula for victory in November.

The White House rejected assertions that keeping 70,000 barrels of oil a day on the world market would mean lower prices.

The measure won't get to President Bush immediately because of parliamentary wrangling in the Senate, but when it does, the signal seems to be that it will be met with a veto.

Realistically, there is very little the Congress can do in the short term to affect the cost of oil or gasoline, one reason Republicans again floated a plan to encourage more domestic oil and gas exploration.

This time, the GOP wanted to open up just one part of the area in Alaska known as ANWR, but that was blocked in the Senate on a 56-42 vote.

Note to ANWR supporters: Unless you decide to give in on a bunch of things that the Democrats want to do when it comes to energy, you probably don't want to hold your breath until the first shovel goes into the ground in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

One interesting sidelight about the energy issue and this election year came from the exit polling in the West Virginia Primary.

Nearly two thirds of voters in the Democratic Primary thought that the idea of a "gas tax holiday" this summer was a good idea. Seven of ten Clinton voters supported the plan, which has been roundly mocked back here inside the Beltway.

In fact, I was surprised at how many people I talked to after returning from the Indiana Primary, who felt like the gas tax holiday issue caused Hillary Clinton to perform poorly in North Carolina and Indiana last week.

Being on the ground in Indiana, I came away with the exact opposite feeling, that she was getting huge rounds of applause at her rallies on the issue, while Obama's protests were drawing a somewhat more tepid response.

Sure it's a piece of campaign year vote chasing. But who said election years were supposed to be free of political pandering?