New York Times: Back before the mortgage meltdown turned into the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, the country`s big economic problem was energy. The presidential campaign was on fire over what to ‘do’ about the price of oil. Gas cost more than $4 a gallon, it was slowing down the economy, people were driving fewer miles and they were flying less. Believe it or not, this was an economic crisis that affected people who didn`t happen to be pinstriped bankers, hedge-fund managers or cabinet …