A Lot of Hot Air

President Bush will have a press conference this morning to pay lip service to his concern about rising oil prices. Bush will attempt to calm voter and Republican unrest over prices at the pump. A four-part plan will address gas prices in the short-and long-term. His plan will probably look like this:

- Making sure consumers and taxpayers are treated fairly. (There's really nothing he can do at this stage except look concerned. His oil buddies will hook him up when he's out of office.)

- Promoting greater fuel efficiency. (The man talks the talk but walks the walk in an SUV and has fought emissions controls that would mandate higher gas mileage.)

- Boosting gasoline supply at home. (Now we're getting somewhere. If Bush had a higher approval rating and Congressional support, you could bet he would try to open-up drilling in environmentally sensitive Alaskan fields etc. - he may still make this move - fear and panic are always his friends (see 9/11))

- Aggressive long-term investment in alternative fuels. (Bush has grossly underfunded alternative fuel research as he pours buckets of tax dollars into Iraq, but he will lay claim to this effort)