Reporter's Note: The President has asked for ideas on how to run America. The best one I’ve come up with so far is this: writing a letter a day to the White House.

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/02/20/driving.tax/art.gps.gi.jpg caption="The mileage tax idea involves tracking drivers through GPS units in their cars, but the Obama Administration stated it will not support the policy."]

Tom Foreman | Bio
AC360° Correspondent

Dear Mr. President,

Give yourself a pat on the back! Heck, have Biden do it for you; he’s not busy.

Hands down, you have made the single smartest move of your month-old presidency by saying you will not pursue a mileage tax on drivers. And probably the worst move? Letting it come up in the first place. Did no one have a talk with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood about teamwork? Cabinet members who run off freelancing ideas can be bad for a president’s political health.

I’m sure you’ve got plenty of folks bending your ear with arguments as to why a mileage tax would be good. If you charge people for every mile they drive, they’ll tell you, you’ll encourage fuel conservation. You’ll cut down on pollution. You’ll reduce traffic congestion, too. But the primary reason this idea is even up for consideration in some states, is that people are doing a better job conserving, so gas tax revenues are not as high as they once were. In other words, taxpayers have done what they were asked to do, but now they’re being told they can’t hold on to one of the benefits.

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