It seemed, years ago, such a good idea: Reduce the United States' heavy dependence on foreign oil and help clean the air at the same time by tapping into our breadbasket's vast stocks of corn to produce ethanol to blend with gasoline.

But the good idea did not stand the test of time. The dependence on foreign oil continued to grow. Evidence mounted that ethanol didn't protect the environment, either, because it took such intensive amounts of energy and water to produce. Still, in May 2008, Congress took the ethanol craze a big step higher, overriding President George W. Bush's veto of a five-year farm bill that significantly increased ethanol subsidies, imposed tariffs on foreign ethanol and mandated greater use of American ethanol. About all that did, besides please U.S. corn growers, was increase the cost of food for Americans and consumers around the world.

So it came as very welcome news this week when California's senior senator, Democrat Dianne Feinstein, teamed with Oklahoma's Republican Sen. Tom Coburn to introduce legislation to fully eliminate the ethanol tax credit subsidy and repeal the import tariff.

Feinstein and Coburn are political heavyweights and that gives us hope. But election year is approaching and there is a president who has an agriculture secretary from Iowa plus hundreds of congress people from corn-producing states all seeking to extend their political lives.

We wish Feinstein and Coburn luck.

REPRINTED FROM THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE.