Great political acumen is not required to understand that many Americans are concerned about rising fuel prices, and Sen. Norm Coleman appears to be making the issue a prominent piece of his bid for reelection. Coleman bucked his party and voted to support a tax on windfall profits for oil companies yesterday.

The legislation would have imposed a 25-percent tax on "unreasonable" profits by the five largest oil companies, which tallied earnings of $36 billion during the first three months of this year. Democrats needed 60 votes to break a Republican filibuster, but could only convince 51 senators to support the measure.

Coleman was among seven GOP senators who supported the proposal, while Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana was the only Democrat to oppose it. The legislation comes in response to gas prices reaching a national average of more than $4 a gallon. The five companies targeted are Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell Oil, BP America and ConocoPhillips.

Coleman’s other gasoline gambit came in the form of a letter to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Douglas Shulman. The senator requested that the IRS increase mileage-deduction rates to better reflect rising gas prices.

Coleman’s opponent, Al Franken, began campaigning statewide after securing the DFL endorsement this past weekend. While Franken has focused on energy independence and the green economy, he has not matched Coleman’s moves on gas prices.