As American households strain under the weight of high gasoline prices, as cities and school districts look for extra money in their budgets to cover the cost of heating fuel, and as everyone is paying more to get everything delivered by diesel-fueled trucks, the election-year political rhetoric is accelerating to a high-octane level.

Big Oil and political opponents are just too tempting of a target to pass up as elected officials and candidates want to direct voter anger toward an easy scapegoat.

Republicans loudly blame President Joe Biden for high prices, as if he told oil companies to s...