Amidst all the reviews of Al Gore's movie came this pithy, snide one from President Bush today. "Doubt it." I bet he does, even without seeing it, even without ever reading one independent study on the subject. His were edited by the oil industry lobbyist he hired as chief of staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. So many words were crossed out of reports on greenhouse gases, it looked as if Milo Minderbinder had taken his sharpie to it.
The debut of Gore's documentary comes at a time when some pundits (including me) might wonder if we should give a rest to that old saw about likeability. Maybe Americans prefer to have a beer and burger with the charming frat boy to the student who always does his homework. But is that a wise basis for choosing a president?
With all the needless death from a ill-conceived war, the wasteful corruption of sweetheart contracts in Iraq and New Orleans, debt and deficits as far as the eye can see, gas prices through the roof with no energy policy in sight, and with a president who delegates to incompetents and cronies, I'm ready to give the class nerd his due and raise a glass to a serious man. Here's to you, Al and a huge box-office gross.
Read the whole column here.