USA Today offers up a notably level-headed editorial on who’s not to blame for high gas prices. As for who to blame, it suggests looking in a mirror. Decades of policy—and individual behavior—that prefer to avoid short-term pain for long-term gain is ultimately responsible for today’s prices.

Oil prices ignite blame game, invite misguided solutions

So who’s to blame for record high oil prices?

In public opinion polls, oil companies get fingered as Public Enemy No. 1 by one-third to one-half of respondents. The other leading culprits include the OPEC cartel, President Bush, environmentalists and speculators.

Not one of them is as culpable as their critics claim. More important, none is capable of solving the problem, making the finger-pointing a destructive distraction. Before we get to some of the things the nation could have done, and should do now, to ease the crisis, let’s assess the usual suspects: