It must be said again that President Biden’s handling of this Putin-Ukraine business has been uncertain, ambiguous, reactive, and embarrassing to anybody who believes in “America First.” 

Mr. Biden ought to send President Putin a full-statement diplomatic demarche — not make another phone call. It should be a written statement giving a March 1 deadline for the Russian troops to return to their normal barracks. If they don’t, the U.S. on March 1 should impose across-the-board banking and energy sanctions. 

We really should’ve done this six months ago.

Next topic: World oil prices are surging. They are now above $90 a barrel, and quite possibly will hit $100 or more.

Regardless, the radical climate types populating the Biden administration are waging war against all forms of fossil fuels and pipelines — with the president’s enthusiastic support. 

European countries and the rest of the world need more oil and natural gas, and they need it right now. We’ve got a big inflation problem, so naturally Team Biden is doing everything it can to prevent fuel sales. Of course, they have stopped the drilling in Alaska, stopped the XL pipeline, and jacked up drilling fees on public lands.

In recent weeks, the administration’s fossil fuel jihad has only intensified. First, it has pulled the rug out from under the infrastructure bill by mandating excessive environmental and endangered species regulatory burdens. That means many bridges, roads, and highways will be short-changed, and new pipelines may be dead.

Then, Mr. Biden’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted on Thursday to press climate regulations and red tape on any new natural gas pipeline projects. So, again, kiss the pipelines goodbye.

Also, the SEC is working hard to pressure investors away from fossil fuel companies by forcing burdensome new climate disclosures. 

Of course, there’s the battle royale over Mr. Biden’s nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin to be the Fed’s top bank supervisor. Remember, she has argued strenuously in public to allocate bank capital and loans away from the fossil fuel industry. 

Then there’s the Blackrock story, involving Larry Fink and other indexed-fund bigshots forcing investors away from fossil fuel companies. Of course, they’re also trying to shift investors toward China — its military and its Communist Party.

So, the world needs oil and natural gas, and Mr. Biden is doing everything he can to say, “No.”

Think Mr. Putin has a smile on his face over this? You bet he does.

His best friend is Mr. Biden, who is killing the world’s greatest energy industry here in America with presidential edicts and regulatory czars at FERC, Fed, the SEC, and elsewhere. Lord only knows what else they’re cooking up. 

________

From Mr. Kudlow’s broadcast on Fox Business News.