The reality is that demand is outstripping supply. There are several reasons for this. First, many of the largest oil fields are old and their production is naturally going down. Second, political instability in many nations is reducing their output of oil (e.g., Iraq, Nigeria, Sudan). Third, 80% of the worlds oil reserves are controlled by national oil companies. Many of these national oil companies are poorly managed and underinvested (e.g., National Oil Company of Iran, Petróleos Mexicanos, Petróleos de Venezuela, etc.).
The major oil companies that we think of like Exxon, BP, etc., actually produce a very small percentage of the world's oil.
At the same time that supply is severely constrained, demand is increasing dramatically. China, India, and Russia suddenly have an emerging middle class that can finally afford to buy cars, which they are doing in great numbers.
Add into this mix speculators who are betting that the cost of oil will go up, and you have the runaway cost of oil.
Finally, the dollar is weak. With the value of the dollar going down, the price of imported oil is going up.
The reality is that there are no quick solutions to this. We do need to facilitate more nuclear power plants. But that requires that we finally solve the storage of waste. Whether or not you agree that Yucca Mountain is the place to do it, the waste has to be stored in someone's backyard, and no politician has the backbone to get it done.
Corn-based ethanol is not the answer, but cellulosic ethanol may be part of the answer. Drilling in ANWR would help, but it isn't going to solve the problem -- oil is a fungible commodity and ANWR is not such a huge reserve that it would significantly impact the global price of oil.
The US market does not control the world price of oil. We are a passenger in the market, not the driver.