stores this holiday season. that's good news for those moms and dads who are worried about whether their christmas gifts will be available. it goes for everything, from bicycles to ice skates. today, though, i want to address another challenge that families are facing, and the one i think they're most focused on right now: high gas prices. this is a problem, not just here in the united states but around the world. the price of gasoline has reached record levels recently in europe and in asia. and france, at the end of last month, had reached about $7 per gallon. in japan it's about $5.50 a gallon, the highest suspended years. of course, it's always painful when gas prices spike. today the price of gas in america on average is $3.40 a gallon. in california it's much higher. the impact is real. but the fact is we faced even