Love the thought, but expect to hear something more like.  "well we've seen the catastrophe of Katrina, the best way to support our American brothers and sisters is to go about our normal way of life, and not to curtail spending or trips that we planned on taking [please PLEASE do NOT stop spending!].  The US economy is strong, despite this calamity.  We have the SPR, but at this time we will not be tapping into it. [for fear that oil prices will rise further, and it will cost more to refill it.]"

I haven't heard one breathe of conservation out of this administration, I think that they will spin it into the need to push ahead with ANWR more quickly, or something like that, despite the obvious solution that you proposed.

Always, always, always remember how critical timing is in assessing the elasticity of demand.

As we saw in the early 1980's, many people in the US made sizable adjustments--they traded in large American cars for diesel VW Rabbits, car pooled, etc.  But that level of change took some time.  

Our current situation could resolve itself before consumers have a chance to respond beyond minor adjustments.  If we're lucky and the damage from Katrina isn't as bad as feared, then we have to be careful not to misjudge the adaptability of consumers.

This lag in consumer response is partially due to economic reasons--most people don't have the resources to instantly trade in a car for something more fuel efficient, etc.  But it's also due to psychological factors, as people need to be convinced that the higher prices will last long enough to justify making significant changes.