Awkward Bush/Gore meeting maintains civility

The President and the co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize met today at the White House for congratulations and photo opp. Okay, it was in theory a potentially awkward rendezvous of the winner and the loser of the 2000 election. A somewhat waggish question would be- yeah, and which is the winner and which is the loser? Gore experienced the anguish of a popular vote victory followed by a Supreme Court assisted Electoral College loss in 2000, then after a long period of unsettling uncertainty, appeared on nation TV to shuffle off the stage. He then picked up an Oscar win for "An Inconvenient Truth", and more recently, shared a Nobel Peace Prize with the 2500 scientists of the IPCC. Down for the count, then back on his feet.

George W. Bush by contrast enjoyed a triumphant first term, then has spent most of term two on the ropes, staggering from scandal to scandal with Iraq looming in the background. Approval rating percentage has hovered in the low 30s. He has remained adamant that global warming should not be addresssed by mandatory efforts, but should be handled in the USA with a show of hands- who wants to make a sacrifice so that the rest of us can keep our Navigators? Bush has discussed his willingness to accept the verdict of history (after he is dead?) but the verdict of history seems to be in on our approach to climate change over the past seven years. That verdict is: wrong turn. Australian Prime Minister John Howard was just voted out of office this week, the only other head of an industrialized state who refused to participate in the Kyoto accord. ...And then there was one.

Gore and Bush went indoors for a brief private conversation, and neither former presidential contender breathed a word of it afterwards to reporters. Oh to have been a fly on the wall for that! Here's my bet: Gore asked Bush if he would reconsider his position on mandatory CO2 emission limits in the USA in light of the recent IPCC final report and the importance of showing USA leadership at the upcoming climate change conference in Bali, Indonesia. George replied, I'd like to help you ozone man but no can do.