This from an estranged Republican blogger:
Conservatives love to ridicule Jimmy Carter for wearing a sweater, telling Americans to turn down their thermostats in the winter, and urging them to drive smaller cars. But can anyone imagine President Bush going out on that kind of a limb to set an example? That lack of leadership will be his legacy on this issue.
Yeah. Shameful.
It’s worth noting that Jimmy Carter was absolutely right on the merits, even though his political approach was (metaphorically) suicidal. For all of his bragging about being willing to take on “tough challenges,” Bush has been deeply afraid to address energy issues with even a modicum of probity. Last night he did elevate the role of energy conservation to the level of national policy (rather than mere personal virtue), and that’s a step forward rhetorically. But he’s been in office for over four years now, and his vaunted energy bill does almost nothing on that front. Talk is cheap, cowboy.
