Let Them Eat Cake.(reading consensus on energy issues)(Brief Article)(Column)

Reaching consensus on energy issues IS hard work

I think America's politicians deserve a break. The American political system and its politicians aren't perfect, but as George Bernard Shaw observed, "Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve."

Some of you might remember that last month I applauded the European Parliament for demonstrating serious commitment to an ideal. No one objected, perhaps because Europe, too, has politicians. It would only be a matter of time before European politicians would claim the world stage from Gray Davis and the California legislature, who had previously lifted it from the innumerable actors in the Florida election debacle.

This month, European Union Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom blew out three candles on a cake presented to her by Greenpeace. The candles were designed to look like smokestacks; other decorations included models of oil tankers, factories, and cars, which were supposed to represent the sources of the emissions blamed for global warming. Wallstrom's celebration, according to a Reuters report, marked the third anniversary of the signing of the Kyoto Protocol by the EU and signaled the EU's determination to stick with the deal. The burning candles (which surely emit their share of pollutants, however small) just seemed like the wrong symbol, as did the cake. Both called to mind the excesses of Marie Antoinette, who in another time and another place was condemned for her insensitivity to those who have less.

Not to be outdone, a member of Britain's Parliament (MP) and the majority Labor Party called President Bush a "Toxic Texan" and "the fool on Capitol Hill." The MP apparently thought these arguments would sway Bush from his opposition to the Kyoto Protocol. Reuters had no report on whether the MP had any comment on the spread of British foot-in-mouth disease.

With news like this, Americans can all take consolation from knowing that Europeans deserve no better governance than we do.

Excuses