Bush to Unveil Energy Blueprint

WASHINGTON – President Bush is about to unveil his long-awaited energy blueprint in the shadows of soaring gasoline prices and Western power blackouts. But by all accounts it will include little to address either problem.

Administration officials, seeking to dampen expectations, have argued there is little the federal government can do to avoid California's blackouts, the state's expected $70 billion electricity bill this year, or a second consecutive summer of gasoline prices above $2 per gallon.

Instead, officials from the president and vice president on down have talked of long-haul solutions and the actions needed to bring energy supplies in line with growing demand.