The Bush administration is expected to abandon a proposal to extend fuel economy regulations to include Hummer H2's and other huge sport utility vehicles, auto industry and other officials say.

The proposal was among a number of potential strategies outlined by the administration in 2003 to overhaul mileage requirements for light trucks - sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and minivans. It had been seen by industry officials as likely to be adopted.

But the impact of the tougher requirements would have been borne almost solely by the increasingly troubled domestic auto industry, a concern for the administration. [NY Times]

A big reason the U.S. auto companies are in trouble right now is because they put all their eggs in one basket by producing such large, gas-guzzling vehicles and becoming overly dependent on these sales for profits. It figures that Honda and Toyota were the first to offer hybrid vehicles and now, thanks to staggering demand, can't produce enough of them. And only now are U.S. counterparts manufacturing hybrids -- but they're always slow to innovate and anticipate trends. Is this the kind of corporate management that Adam Smith would've endorsed coddling?

So at the expense of conservation and the environment, GW Inc. decides to protect (that's right, protect -- like the liberals were always accused of doing) the auto companies. Not that GW gives a sh*t about the many laid-off auto workers but rather is offering payback to three huge campaign contributors. Also, notice that industry officials had expected passage of this proposal; it was a done-deal until GW stepped in and once again tossed big industry a bone -- an out-of-the-blue gift.

He can be just so damn compassionate, can't he?