an excerpt from today's Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlates...365854,00.html
...President Bush is calling for Americans to slash gasoline consumption by up to 20 percent by 2017. Bush envisions the goal being achieved primarily through a sharp escalation in the amount of ethanol and other alternative fuels that the federal government mandates must be produced...Though some argue that such a drastic increase is unrealistic...The other piece of Bush's energy proposal is something he has unsuccessfully asked Congress for in the past - the ability to
rewrite mileage rules for new car fleets. The White House calls it a safe way to improve car mileage, but some critics suggest that it could instead spur automakers to produce more gas guzzlers...
With debate over the Iraq war sending Republicans scurrying away from the president and his job approval rating hovering in the mid-30 percent range, Bush's overall agenda for the speech was twofold: present himself to the public as a leader with a sincere desire to work across party lines on practical solutions and place pressure on Democratic leaders to either go along or offer alternatives.
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