News coverage in advance of the president’s State of the Union address Tuesday is comparing the rhetoric of last year’s speech to what has really been accomplished so far when it comes to energy independence.

The Associated Press reports President Bush is expected to renew concerns about energy security in his State of the Union address. But will the rhetoric be followed by action? Up to now, the record has been mixed.

The president is expected to call for a “sharp escalation of ethanol use in his speech,” which is a “political sure bet as ethanol has widespread bipartisan support.” But the article says the administration has been criticized for “not living up to the rhetoric” since not enough funding has been provided for research into cellulosic ethanol development, as promised last year.