The AP sits down and tries to reckon with how much gas is involved in keeping President Bush in motion, what with the limos, the Crawford pick-up and that big Air Force plane he tools around in. The White House releases no official fuel-consumption figures for POTUS, but it does seem to add up:

Getting President Bush from here to there consumes an enormous amount of fuel, whether he's aboard Air Force One, riding in a helicopter or on the ground in a heavily armored limousine. The bill gets steeper every day as the White House is rocked by the same energy prices as regular drivers. . . . .

Almost every vehicle Bush uses is custom-made to add security and communications capabilities, and the heavier weight of these guzzlers further drives up gas and jet fuel costs.

And all that is to say nothing, of course, of what it costs to rent an aircraft carrier to land on when he feels like proclaiming victory in one of those war thingamees. . . . -- HOLLY MARTINS

Presidential Gas Bill Gets Steeper [AP, via CNN]