Kerry on Oil

There's a story by AP entitled Kerry Urging Energy Independence in U.S. One paragraph says:

"There are two reasons why we cannot be asleep at the wheel during this current energy crisis," Kerry said in the weekly Democratic radio address. "First, soaring energy prices are putting our economy at risk and second, our dependence on Middle East oil is putting our national security at risk. But it doesn't have to be this way."

I'm not sure he realizes that the solution to these two problems are mutually exclusive. He could advocate lowering tariffs and excise taxes as a way to make energy cheaper, but that would increase our dependency on foreign oil. He could also advocate increasing tariffs and excise taxes to make us more independent, but that would raise prices. Which one of those two solutions does he advocate? Apparently neither, instead he advocates politically popular non-solutions like opening up the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and increasing tax credits for alternative energy. Well, that's politics for you.