When Bushes Care

The message: I care. We're trying.

-- President George H.W. Bush, responding to a town hall question about the worsening economy, 1/15/92

I know some say, well, since he's against Kyoto he doesn't care about the climate change. That's urban legend that is preposterous.

-- President George W. Bush, pre-emptively responding to criticism at the APEC Summit, 9/4/07

When Bushes care, watch out.

Lil' Bush is on the Australia leg of his worldwide "I Care" global warming tour. The last stop was Germany and the G8 summit, where he cared us to a worthless and toothless "compromise" statement.

In both stops, he deployed the China Dodge, insisting that he won't move on cutting greenhouse bases without China doing the same.

Al Gore has already explained that as a practical matter, because of economic fears, China will only follow our lead. And today in the Washington Post, former Bush adviser (and Reagan's Secretary of State) George Shultz made a similar case.

Further, Bush always neglects to mention that his administration is directly subsidizing China, and other nations, to create more carbon pollution.

Obviously, global warming requires a global solution, and China has to be a part of that.

But Bush is not acting in good-faith by pointing his finger at China.

He, like most of his fellow conservatives, is simply making excuses and shifting blame -- while the Arctic ice cap is collapsing before our eyes.

And as their inaction shows, they don't care at all.

Views expressed on this page are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Campaign for America's Future or Institute for America's Future