George Bush Notices His Poll Ratings
Um, I mean, George Bush suddenly notices, after all this time, and after sending lots of other people's children to Iraq to fight for oil, that many cars get rather terrible gas mileage:

President Bush on Thursday said he wants to raise fuel-efficiency standards on automobiles, as members of both parties jockeyed for political position on the issue of rising gas prices.

Bush called on Congress to give him the authority to set the standards for passenger cars sold in the United States as a means of reducing the nation's demand for gasoline.

"I encourage them to give me that authority," Bush told reporters during a visit to a service station in Biloxi, Mississippi. "It's an authority I used for light trucks, and I intend to use it wisely if Congress will give me that authority." (Watch political frenzy spurred by gas prices -- 2:01 )

The president's comments, delivered as he stood next to gas pumps during his 11th visit to the Gulf Coast area devastated by Hurricane Katrina, were soon followed by a letter from Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta to the GOP House and Senate leaders.

"At the president's request, I hereby ask that the Congress take prompt action to authorize the U.S. Department of Transportation to reform fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles," Mineta wrote.

"Along with other previously announced energy policies, the president believes these actions are critical to promoting our nation's energy security and independence."

Really? Where's he been all these years? He's just thinking of this now? I just want to know: will the Ford Explosion and all those USS Nimitz-sized SUVs be included in his push to make "passenger cars" more efficient? Well, not if the standard gets set the way it has been for years:

Congress first set the passenger car standard for fuel economy in 1975, and it has remained at 27.5 miles per gallon since 1990. The mileage is a weighted average of an automaker's fleet, not a requirement for individual models.