Quote: “We can’t drive our SUVs and, you know, eat as much as we want and keep our homes on, you know, 72 degrees at all times, whether we’re living in the desert or we’re living in the tundra, and then just expect every other country is going to say OK, you know, you guys go ahead keep on using 25 percent of the world’s energy, even though you only account for 3 percent of the population, and we’ll be fine. Don’t worry about us. That’s not leadership.” ~~ Barack Obama
Huffington Post– Hey, remember all that fuss about how Obama was bucking tradition by not wearing his suit jacket in the Oval Office? And how it was going to be much more casual in there? Well, there’s this other side to it: energy waste.
The capital flew into a bit of a tizzy when, on his first full day in the White House, President Obama was photographed in the Oval Office without his suit jacket. There was, however, a logical explanation: Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat. “He’s from Hawaii, O.K.?” said Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, who occupies the small but strategically located office next door to his boss. “He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there.”
Sure, but didn’t he spend some time in Chicago? And don’t they make their politicians go through some kind of rigorous acclimation training to get used to the cold?
Trivial? Maybe….maybe not.
The people who get all upset about this are probably going to be the same ones who say that there’s no such thing as global warming, because this year was colder than normal.
Trivial when you considor how much it takes to crank up Marine Corps 1 or Air Force 1.
Trivial?==No, unless he plants that victory garden out there on the front lawn.
Seems to me the taxpayers should pick up the bill up to whatever the official temperature is we should all be using and Obama pay for the rest.
That won’t happen, just saying. OTOH–while back there was a big push to take short showers. I love long hot showers. I will pay for my wastral ways and save money/energy in other ways–smaller house, smaller car, etc.
We should all have the freedom to waste energy in our own chosen ways, as long as we pay for it.
Jeezz!
Please think before you post. This is a low point, John.
[Please learn how to read a blog… John is not the only one who posts here. – ed.]
Typical democrat by the sounds of it, do as I say not as I do.
I think were overpicking nits. Especially when there is a budget item to put around $200k to redecorating the white house for each pres.
I’m having trouble seeing either as excessive.
I just love the apologists. 3 weeks into office and it’s all “hey he said those things, but you can’t hold him to it”. You fuckers are just sad.
ROFLMAO
1,2,3,4 – You’re probably correct, that’s how it works today; minimize the opposition stance and exaggerate your stance. Apart from that you’re left with looking at exactly what is said and whether it’s consistent.
The quote implies that we, all of us who are Americans must do something about our energy use or we’re not worth to take leadership in the world.
The article clearly demonstrates an attitude other than ‘doing something about energy use’.
Somebody tell me how this is consistent.
Typical criminal hypocrite politician. BTW- Dems don’t have a monopoly on this…
And Nixon liked to crank up the A/C so he could keep a fire burning in the fireplace.
It’s annoying because Obama was up on his high horse poo-pooing all of us for running the thermostat at 72.
It would be like him saying, “we all can’t keep driving big cars, ok?” and then buying an SUV. It makes him look ridiculous.
Hey, we all ragged on Bush for stuff like this – you Obama nuts just need to get a backbone.
He criticized the US saying that we use 25% of the worlds energy and we can’t expect the world to respect us if WE DRIVE SUVs AND KEEP THE THERMOSTAT AT 72%. Using his own standards, I can’t respect Obama if he keeps his thermostat at 78%. Just like all liberals, rules they impose (paying taxes, energy usage, carbon emmisions, ect.) only apply to others and not them.
Sounds like they need to weatherize the White House. I can’t fault Obama … I like it warm too.
#13 Improbus
That’s the best one yet – Don’t blame Obama, blame the White House.
It would be like him saying, “we all can’t keep driving big cars, ok?” and then buying an SUV. It makes him look ridiculous.
Uh, dude, he does have an SUV. The mother of all SUVs. Google “Cadillac One” to see. He has it because he’s the president of the United States. He has the most important job in the government. Especially after 8 years of Republican f*ckups. I want him to be as comfortable as his skinny Hawaiian @ss can be in order to let him focus on his job. If that means keeping the White House at 95 degrees, great.
Funny, I didn’t hear all you Obama-bashers criticize Bush for flying in Air Force One. What an energy hog, a 747 for ONE person! Hey, great idea — let’s make the President of the United States fly coach to save money! Yeah, and make him drive a Honda Civic to save money too! Yeah, that’s the ticket!
Sheesh. You bashers are lame, lame, lame.
# 17 Little Timmy said, “dictatorship and failure has been the Republican way”
Children like you should ask your parents before posting on this site.
A dictatorship wouldn’t have allowed an election. Now, go play with your lego’s.
Sigh… remember the good ol’ days (2000-2008) when the right-wing wackos considered any criticism of the president equivalent to treason? When you were called an Un-American, Terrorist-Lovin’, Freedom-Hating, American-Hatin’ Commie Librul if you dared voice a word of disagreement with anything the president did?
#16. So what part of hypocrisy do you not understand? Your argument fails because Bush the Moron didn’t have any inclination towards energy conservation, just the opposite in fact. What we are talking about here is a man who ran his campaign wagging his finger at the peasants for being wasteful. And even goes as far as to say “that’s not leadership”.
So what I am saying is, Mr. Obama…that’s not leadership.
# 16 Phydeau said, “Funny, I didn’t hear all you Obama-bashers criticize Bush for flying in Air Force One.”
Umm, was Bush telling us to not warm our house during winter while cranking the heat in his? Maybe, that’s why you didn’t hear an outcry.
But, if you had an IQ higher than a peanut you would have figured that out…
Well think about it, do you really want the guy who has the launch codes to be cranky because his office space is not comfy for him?
As much as it seems hypocritic, you have to admit there are some situations in which due to the importance of the matter, it does not matter if the conservation standards are not being followed… you gotta admit that you can not compare the kind of work that the President has to do with the guy who turns the thermostat up in the living room just so he can sit in his shorts and watch TV.
#20 Little Timmy… don’t be a dumb@ss. By your logic, Obama should be flying coach, driving a Honda Civic, etc., etc. Is that what you think he should do?
He has a very important job, the most important job in the country. Can you not understand that he could encourage people to drive fuel-efficient cars even though for security he has to ride in the Mother Of All SUVs? Can you not understand that a person with a very important job should be given a little more latitude in his work environment even as he encourages people to conserve?
No, you just want to bash him. And spare us the “Bush the Moron” talk… you’re probably one of the chickensh*ts who voted for him but now pretend you didn’t.
You are one obtuse dumb@ass, Paddy-O… good job. 🙂
OHHH! That really cut hard Paddy-O. You seem to be “the man” at insults.
Well, this Presidency is starting to look like Carter redux. Should be an interesting if not surreal 4 years…
Dumb@sses everywhere, Little Timmy. So you going to answer my question or run away like a girly man? 🙂
# 25 Little Timmy said, “OHHH! That really cut hard Paddy-O.”
Really? I wasn’t trying to be mean. I just think it would be better if you had your parents permission before posting here. No insult intended.
I live outside of D.C. We recently had a snow-into-ice storm. As usual traffic was much worse than the conditions indicated. Part of this was due to Obama’s motorcade taking his daughters to their new school. That night he made an offhanded remark to the press that D.C. residents needed to buck up; Chicago people were much more hardy when it came to dealing with cold weather.
I guess not.
#23. Only a Dumb@ass would equate Flying on AF1 and using a hardened SUV for protection to controlling the heat in the White House. Really, we need to start screening some of the people who comment here.
Just checked, and the temp in DC is about 71F at this moment. That means he could probably run his computer and a couple TVs, maybe a couple heavy-breathing aides and SS guys, and he’s at 80F.
They probably run the cooling system on a day like today to handle the humidity.
Big F Deal.
#28. I am sorry you’ve had a bad day at the Kool Aid stand today. Tomorrow will be better, I promise.