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.
He should put a windmill on the White House lawn in order to create plenty of clean energy to warm his office. On those days when he and Pelosi are not speaking, these offices can temporarily use foreign oil.
Windmill??
Idiot..
Easier to add a solar atrium, it captures the sunshine and Radiates heat, into the building.
It saves 20% even on cloudy days..
#60 – Ah_Yea,
It’s a good point that we the idiots knew since 1973 that we needed to be more energy efficient. We could have saved ourselves a ton of trouble.
That said, people will make the same bad choices again and again when the financial game is rigged. As long as we subsidize oil in the great many ways that we do, thus making it far cheaper than its actual cost to society, we will continue to make bad choices due to economic conditions that do not reflect the real world.
#65 Misanthropic Scott
What’s the problem with cheapish oil? The government steals trillions and the best you can hope for your money is garbage pickup.
#65 Misanthropic.
Yep.
#66, ‘tempt,
What’s the problem with cheapish oil? The government steals trillions and the best you can hope for your money is garbage pickup.
Yes, you and garbage pickup. Why am I not surprised?
Trivial. The original article from the NYT doesn’t even say what temperature the President had turned the thermostat up to. Axelrod’s assertion that orchids could grow in there could be hyperbole, as politicians often do.
Later on in the NYT article, it does mention President Obama wearing sweaters on casual weekends, so obviously it’s not that hot in the White House.
And considering that this is a guy that works at home, he actually has a relatively low impact on a day-to-day basis.
#68 Mr Fusion
I suppose the point is at least the oil companies provide a much needed product at a reasonable cost. Government offers little more than misery and dependence.
#70, ‘tempt,
the oil companies provide a much needed product at a reasonable cost.
So do drug dealers.
#71 Mr Fusion
>>So do drug dealers.
please?
Won’t it even out if he runs the air conditioning less in the summer to compensate?
# 59 Misanthropic Scott said, “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.”
The way you posed the question I thought it was asking (past tense) whether I had read the article that was the subject of this thread. I just read what you posted. Carter was correct that we needed a better energy policy. Unfortunately, he crippled the one source at the time that could have made a difference. Nuke.
>A sensible person would try to make the President as comfortable as possible…
A sensible President would try to make the people as comfortable as possible…
Funny how the OMB (not run by republicans) claim that this idiotic democrat re-election bill will do nothing and that we will be out of this if we don’t have huge government intervention
But of course many of you myopic democrats don’t want to face anything that contradicts your failed policies.
And on top of all of this, Obama claims he doesn’t want to go back to the failed policies of the last 8 years. If that’s the case, then why is continuing with government lead health care and massive gov spending in education which Bush did and showed to be total failures?
Obama is just the continuation of Bush.
#74. “Unfortunately, he crippled the one source at the time that could have made a difference. Nuke.”
Lets see, uh, wasnt that his specialty, nuclear engineer. So maybe he knew a little bit more about that subject then let’s say….someone who drives a Mister Softee truck. Oh thats right, I forgot your an expert on Nuclear Physics too….oops, my bad.
#76. You get it.
Isn’t it idiotic to even suggest that a president not be allowed to control the thermostat in his own house. At least cut him enough slack to be physically comfortable. Jeez.
#61 – RLF,
A hypocrite is a hypocrite.
Obama is a hypocrite.
Actually, if you were capable of a little introspection, which I doubt you are, you would find that all of us deal with a bit of our own hypocrisy.
Perhaps you missed my post where I sent Obama and email on this one myself a week or two ago.
Perhaps you remember public opinion of the time without remembering actual facts. I think you of all people having lived through the period as I did, would do very well to read a little about the way that era was portrayed in the news at the time versus what we now know in hindsight.
Carter tried to give us energy independence and a clean way to produce energy. He failed due to lack of charisma.
Reagan gave us today’s financial crisis. He set in motion 28 years of deregulation letting corporations get away with anything and everything. Even Clinton followed his lead on this and bent over backwards to give every freedom to corporations. Now that has played out.
Carter’s predictions about our energy situation have come true exactly. Reagan’s damage is done.
You, by not seeing that even in hindsight are blind.
Open your eyes. It won’t hurt. You’ll probably still disagree because you are a moran. But, you just might wake up and notice that Carter nailed it to a T with his predictions of what would happen if we did not follow a sane energy plan. And, he had the sane energy plan that would have kept us out of some very serious trouble.
#66 – contempt,
What’s the problem with cheapish oil?
One problem is that it causes people to make bad decisions, such as driving humpers and naggravators, turning up heat, taking 30 minute hot showers, not insulating their homes, building suburbia, and other assorted wastes of energy.
Another problem is that the oil only appears cheap. In reality, we pay a very hefty bill for it. Most of that bill is paid for in our income taxes. For a really good article on the subject, try this lengthy report on the real cost of gasoline that I’ve posted many times before. Most of the readers that have been here a while have seen me post this before.
http://tinyurl.com/3b7w9m
So, if you think that it is a bad idea to have those of us who are environmentally conscious, or at least as conscious as one can be an live in the U.S., subsidize the extremely wasteful habits of the SUV driving, overheating, over-air-conditioning, over-beef-eating, over-consuming assholes, then you will like cheap oil.
I do not.
My goodness, what a bunch of babies. Whining about Obama. What Obama said was accurate and as energy prices put downward pressure on the economy, we are going to have to face making changes.
To expect the President of the USA to lead by example on every single issue that affects America is to want the impossible. He’s only human and one of his preferences is to have a warm room. Did he lower his preference from 78 to 76? Would it matter?
What makes more impact in this world–the temperature in the room Obama works in or all the decisions he makes in that room?
Silly dipwads.
Obama talks a LOT. So this kind of thing is going to happen a LOT.
Bush generally avoided this type of situation because he focused on eliminating media time.
Obama likes to talk to the media, likes to go on auto-pilot and start rambling away.
McCain also liked to talk to the media, but his style was to get bogged down into wonky political ideologies and vagueness about reform.
People who like to pick apart things Obama says will no doubt have a lot of material in the coming years.
Although Bill Clinton liked to talk to the media a lot, he tended to get guarded when he drifted into an area where a misstep could hand the Republicans something.
Obama is a situation where at least for 6 months or so, no one is going to even listen to the Republicans (fair or not fair, the big bailout bill of October 08 is doing to dog them as a big nail in the proverbial coffin for quite a while … remember McCain stopped campaigning and flew to Washington specifically to help do his party in 😉 )
# 77 Dan said, “Lets see, uh, wasnt that his specialty, nuclear engineer. So maybe he knew a little bit more about that subject then let’s say…”
Umm, that’ like saying a geologist who pushes oil usage is correct because he knows more than an environmentalist…
#74, Cow-Patty,
Carter was correct that we needed a better energy policy. Unfortunately, he crippled the one source at the time that could have made a difference. Nuke.
More of your bullcrap?
Carter never stopped or hindered in any way nuclear energy. That was done all by itself by the private sector by the fiasco at Three Mile Island.
Carter lead by the example of even visiting the plant with the First Lady to help allay surrounding residents fears. It was lucky for him that nothing serious came of it because no one knew at the time just how serious that reactor was.
But of course, you will continue with your childish bullshit.
So when are you going to back up your claim that Frank said the Washington corruption is the fault of the voters?
#86 By killing reprocessing Carter nearly killed nuclear power in the United States by forcing the plants into a throw-away fuel cycle, where the one thing the electric utilities could not do was get rid of their radioactive spent fuel. They had to basically keep it forever…
So, are you going to answer my question on debtors prison?
#87, Cow-Patty,
By killing reprocessing Carter nearly killed nuclear power in the United States
That was Ford who stopped the processing of plutonium you effen idiot. He did it to help stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Where is the quote on Frank?
Eff off with this “debtors prison”, I have no idea what the hell you are babbling about.
# 88 Mr. Fusion said, “That was Ford who stopped the processing of plutonium you effen idiot.”
I will now stop correcting you. Please let me know when you have completed 6th grade…
“On April 7, 1977, President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States would defer indefinitely the reprocessing of spent nuclear reactor fuel. He stated that after extensive examination of the issues, he had reached the conclusion that this action was necessary to reduce the serious threat of nuclear weapons proliferation, and that by setting this example, the U. S. would encourage other nations to follow its lead.”
Listen and heed all you Obama critics,
The LORD God Obama has spoken and declared himself to be comfortable at 78 degrees during the icy cold winter months, therefore you will all accept this as gospel and cease and decist from all criticism because the LORD has come to save us all from our own faults and environmental crimes.
The rest of you insignificant little minions will shiver and freeze to conserve fuel so that our LORD God Obama may be comfortable so he can continue to rescue us from the evil Bush and his one score and one years of pure hell.
Those who continue to sayeth unkind things about our LORD GOD Obama will be strucketh down with a lightning bolt from his mighty hand and be rendered ashes.
The LORD God Obama’s minion has made a grievous error and will therefore throw himself down on his sword for his unforgivable mistake. May the LORD God Obama bless my pitiful soul.
#89, Cow-Patty,
In October 1976, fear of nuclear weapons proliferation (especially after India demonstrated nuclear weapons capabilities using reprocessing technology) led President Gerald Ford to issue a Presidential directive to indefinitely suspend the commercial reprocessing and recycling of plutonium in the U.S. This was confirmed by President Jimmy Carter in 1977.
I think Ivor wins the prize as the sorest loser… that was a world champion whine! 🙂