The results of that "Eureka" moment were quite predictable.

In Minnesota, the Republican Party hopes to gain votes by running television commercials that blame consumers' pain at the pump on DFL legislators who -- with the help of six Republicans in the House -- overrode Gov. Pawlenty's veto of a transportation bill that increased the state gas tax by 8 .5 cents per gallon. In addition to running the ads on television, the GOP hopes gas stations statewide will feature the commercials on monitors found above gas pumps.

We'll be blunt: These 15-second TV spots are lame. They have production values that wouldn't pass muster in a second-year college marketing course, and feature a slogan that, clever intentions notwithstanding, is confusing: "Democrats: You pay, they pump."

What, exactly, are DFLers pumping?

But beyond the low-budget ads themselves lies a deeper, more disturbing reality. House Republicans can't seem to get over the fact that they lost the fight against the gas tax increase -- an increase which, by the way, was supported by the traditionally conservative Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. That didn't stop the GOP from retaliating against members who broke ranks in support of the new tax, and now they're convinced that voters will buy the argument that the DFL is responsible for high gas prices.

Let's put such claims in perspective. So far, the gas tax actually has risen by 2 cents -- the other 61/2 won't be fully phased in until 2014. So, if we're paying $3.50 per gallon today, as opposed to $2.80 at this time last year, the Democrats deserve "blame" for about 3 percent of the price increase at the pumps.

That seems unlikely to turn many voters against the DFL party, but the GOP is betting the commercials blaming Democrats for a 42 percent tax increase will.

We hope people are smarter than that.

Meanwhile, on the national level, Sen. John McCain and Sen. Hillary Clinton also are seeking to cash in on driver discontent. Both have a plan to suspend the federal excise tax of 18.4 cents per gallon from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Sen. Barack Obama, to his credit, is calling this what it is: a shortsighted, economically unsound idea that would put little money back in consumers' pockets -- about $25 per driver -- while removing money from the cash-strapped federal highway budget.

The way we see it, the federal government already has thrown enough cash around this spring. It's a moot point now whether the economic stimulus checks were a good idea. But let's not compound our government's financial problems and our nation's infrastructure woes by handing out more "free" money that will have to be paid back later, with interest.