>One editorial takes the White House to task for focusing too much on
>polls in its calls for energy policy changes. "If there is an
>unhealthy addiction right now, it may be the White House fixation on
>polls showing Americans are anxious about gas prices. This, and only
>this, could explain the decision to co-opt Democratic energy ideas
And then a single day later they get to work:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/02/politics/02energy.html?hp&ex=1138942800&en=884f904a8b1146b8&ei=5094&partner=homepage "Energy analysts said the push on energy policy at the White House came in large part from Mr. Bodman, a former professor of chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as the former president of Fidelity Investments. Republicans said Mr. Bodman's push dovetailed with the view of Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's top political adviser, that high gas and home heating prices would be a potent political issue. Congress and the administration have at times sent conflicting signals about their priorities, further complicating Mr. Bush's prospects of pushing through his proposals.
The Energy Department will begin laying off researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the next week or two because of cuts to its budget.
A veteran researcher said the staff had been told that the cuts would be concentrated among researchers in wind and biomass, which includes ethanol. "
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