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.
#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.
Boy I say boy, you about as sharp as a bowlin’ ball. The point here is that the presidency is a unique and very important job and the person doing it should be allowed whatever he wants to be able to concentrate on doing it, if that means special airplanes and cars or having his work environment exactly the way he wants it. Anyone with half a brain can understand why we should cut him some slack, and understand why it’s not hypocrisy for him to encourage millions of Americans to conserve energy.
Face it, you’re criticizing the president. According to the right-wing wackos, that makes you a freedom hatin’, terrorist lovin’, America-hatin’ treasonous little scumbag. Shame on you. 🙂
But wait. Now that there’s a Democrat in the White House, is it no longer treasonous to criticize the president? Help me out, wackos.
the hypocrisy doesn’t end there…here’s what Obama promised (fooled the sheeple into thinking) during the campaign
http://change.gov/agenda/ethics_agenda/
Porkulus bill is anything but open but of course Obama is just doing what’s good for you, right?
# 34 The Warden said, “the hypocrisy doesn’t end there…”
Anybody who thought this guy (who moved up through the Chicago pol machine at a fast rate) was his own man is extremely stupid.
Oh, yeah. I’ve got a bridge…
Ain’t nothin’ like a sore loser whining about losing…
Want some cheese with that whine? Paddy-O? Warden? Timmy?
# 36 Phydeau said, “Ain’t nothin’ like a sore loser whining about losing…”
Losing what?
#37 Oh, you are so coy, Paddy-O. That’s so cute. 🙂
# 38 Phydeau said, “Oh, you are so coy, Paddy-O. That’s so cute.”
You’re babbling again. Cut down on the psychotropics…
Oh, how fucking lame.
The economy is imploding and the Republicans are pushing their “Do nothing” bill. So what can we whine about? Oh yeah, the White House thermometer setting.
This is pathetic.
# 40 Dallas said, “This is pathetic.”
What do you expect? We elect a pathetic pol & get a pathetic situation.
Changing the thermostat is change you can believe in.
I keep my place at 75 F. I could care less what the tree huggers think.
#40 Dallas
>>The economy is imploding and the Republicans are pushing their “Do nothing” bill.
The economy was destroyed by politicians so it seems highly unlikely that politicians are the ones that can fix it.
I sent Obama an email about this when I first heard about it. I suggested he switch to sweaters and set an example by keeping the heat low in winter and the A/C temp high in summer.
from what little I know, being canadian, your first family is billed for their food and consumables at your White House, since the president receives a taxable salary plus expenses for his work. don’t know if that includes heat for the residence. the complex includes exec office bdg and is managed by GSA. building has had supplemental solar power since 1979, now approx 9kW. DOE keeps all systems up to date (windows, doors, pipes, furnaces, solarpanels). no doubt it is as efficient as possible for v old bdg from Y1800. the presidency is a massive institution involving hundreds & it sounds like the thermostat in the west wing is pretty minor part in it.
btw, your president is more popular here than our own prime minister.
http://tinyurl.com/dgtr2t
http://tinyurl.com/bz2md2
#26 – Paddy-O,
Well, this Presidency is starting to look like Carter redux.
I certainly hope so, at least on the environmental front.
http://tinyurl.com/99nye
# 47 Misanthropic Scott said, “I certainly hope so, at least on the environmental front. ”
LOL! You are obviously too young to actually remember those times.
#41, Cow-Patty,
What do you expect? We elect a pathetic pol & get a pathetic situation.
I expect you to back up your claim that Frank blamed voters for the corruption in Washington. You still haven’t posted that link where he said it.
In the mean time I see you are still throwing sheet out there.
#48 – Paddy-O,
LOL!
Once again, drooling on your shirt is not an argument.
You are obviously too young to actually remember those times.
Actually, I do remember those years. Did you actually read the article or are you a moran?
BTW, as for Carter’s economics, you’re probably right. He was as bad as Reagan.
http://tinyurl.com/26nkz6
But, you won’t read that one either, so why do I bother?
You do know how to point your mouse and click, right? Then, once the page loads, you actually have to read it if you want to make a comment.
And, don’t drool on yourself.
Don’t feed the trolls!!
# 50 Misanthropic Scott said, “Actually, I do remember those years. Did you actually read the article or are you a moran?”
Umm, yes. What does the article (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/29/obama-cranks-up-white-hou_n_162127.html) have to do with Carter’s failed Presidency & failed environmental legacy?
Or, are you hallucinating again? Remember Newton?
I agree. Obama should turn his thermostat down.
Now do I consider this hypocrisy. Although he did state the obvious, we do need to cut down our energy use, as a leader he should step up and do as he says.
As others pointed out, what AF1 and that Caddy1 burn should raise some eyebrows. By cutting down on his travels he could save the taxpayers millions.
There was no need for Obama to go to Elkhart. It is a nice city less than an hour from me. He could have spoken to the people there via a TV feed from Washington. If Obama had spent the night in Chicago then I could understand a little better. Flying into Elkhart and back to Washington the same day wasted money.
For a few bucks he could have spoken to the whole nation and given them his plan.
The complaint about Obama is just ridiculous.
A sensible person would try to make the President as comfortable as possible… splurge a little on extra heat, give him that extra cushy chair… so that he can give 110% to fix your fuking country! In his case IT’S NOT WASTED ENERGY… it’s a damn cheap perk and money well spent
Geez.
Your president doesn’t have to… shouldn’t have to… follow the exact credo as the general public, otherwise you would have him living in a 3 bedroom bungalow with R50 insulation in the walls and driving a Ford Fusion. Not doing those things doesn’t make him a hypocrite.
Great picture! Thanks!
Obama will be saving big bucks on air conditioning come summer time!
Air conditioning is far more expensive than heating.
He IS leading by example 😉
On a more serious note: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Politics/story?id=6849013&page=1
I wish I could find the source but I can’t so I’ll have to be general. The 3 percent of population and 25 percent of energy sounds impressive but when you consider what we do with that energy it actually isn’t that outrageous. The impression you could get from that stat is that we’re just sitting here wasting energy on our own pleasure. While there are some doing that, the productivity produced by that energy is what generates the massive wealth this country has.
#52 – Paddy-tr0ll,
Cool. You clicked a link. Bad tinyurl creator plugin must not have finished copying when I pasted the URL.
Try this one. I tested it.
http://tinyurl.com/99nye
Note, however, that you just proved that your first reply to me (#47) was before you even clicked the link let alone read the article. Your drool is showing again.
#59 Misanthropic,
Good Link. Anyone and everyone who looks at this knows Carter tried to “fix” our energy problems. Carter made mistakes in his presidency, but this wasn’t one of them.
His approach may have been a bit difficult to swallow, but that just leads me to my next point.
Don’t blame Carter, Clinton, or Bush for our energy problems.
Blame ourselves. After all, down deep we KNOW that we cannot go on doing “Business as usual” yet we still do.
I believe by this time next year we as a nation could be independent from foreign oil – if we as a nation wanted to be.
#59 Are you an idiot?
A hypocrite is a hypocrite.
Obama is a hypocrite.
Carter was a miserable failure as President(PERIOD)
I do not need an article or anything else to tell me what I saw and experienced 30 years ago myself.
I know that this is hard for you to retain since you like others to imprint their ideas on you but please try not to be such a doche, OK.
#52, Cow-Patty,
Or, are you hallucinating again? Remember Newton?
Huey, Issac, Freddy, or Bob Newton?
[You forgot Wayne–ed.]