The Making of the President 1964 and 2008
May 24th, 2007 by Carbon CoalitionTheodore White wrote of John Kennedy that the president would often “lance with his wit the balloon of a poorly formed question.” Or something like that; I’m reading White’s account of the 1964 election and it’s a marvelous record of history. Picked it up in a used bookstore in Boston.
Anyway, the phrase seems to apply to the way today’s presidential candidates can get off the hook by lancing, with a sound bite, the balloon of a global warming question.
That means we’ve got to meet and greet these people, and get down to the bottom line:
***Will they commit to a comprehensive climate agenda, to be developed and launched within 150 days of election day?***
How will global warming fit into their foreign policy priorities?
And does the plan include:
- Legislation for economy-wide emissions reductions?
- Federal planning for climate change impacts and response
- Picking the right cabinet to carry the plan forward?
- Signals in the first budget presented to Congress that the plan must be funded?
- Support for you and me to build efficiency and conservation into our homes and communities?
- Aggressive R & D for low carbon energy technology?
Sure, we’re hearing about the targets and timetables for greenhouse gas emissions reductions on this campaign trail. Unfortunately, the targets and timetable sound bites threaten to lance any opportunity to get to the bottom line, to get commitments to a 150 day plan of action.
***If you want to choke off future sound bites, the Granite State Conservation Voters is ready to help prepare you and your friends ask candidates about global warming.***
Four mini workshops in different parts of the state will help you persuade the next president to make global warming a top priority. Drop by one of the 5 bird-dog training workshops in June:
- June 2, 9:30-11:30, Cornish
- June 7, 6:00-8:00pm, Durham
- June 9, 10:00-12:00, Derry
- June 13, 11:30-1:30, Concord (after the Proclamation)
- June 14, 6:30-8:30, Conway
For more information go here.
To RSVP contact Bruce Clendenning at 228-1970 or Bruce@VoteConservation.org
