When President Bush vowed on Tuesday to reduce drastically American dependence on oil from the Middle East, he had plenty of company.

President Richard M. Nixon promised in 1971 to make the United States self-sufficient in energy by 1980. President Jimmy Carter promised in 1979 that the nation would "never again use more foreign oil than we did in 1977."

And Mr. Bush has called in each of his past four State of the Union addresses for a reduction in the dependence on foreign oil.

Despite those promises in the past 35 years, United States dependence on oil imports is at a record level.