Jimmy Carter staked his presidency on that notion.  He walked to his inauguration rather than riding in a limosine.  He turned down thermostats and put on sweaters.  He installed solar panels on the White House.  He was one of our truly great American presidents, and one of the most underestimated.  He was right about energy thirty years before anyone else.  And for his sins we replaced him after a single term with a smooth talking demagogue who had parlayed a mediocre film career into a pretty good gig playing a governor in California.

We all watch with growing concern the global calamity that is the George W Bush presidency, but almost everything that concerns us about him began with Reagan.  We all ponder with varying degrees of sadness and anger the current reality compared to what might have been if Al Gore had taken office in 2001.  Imagine how very different the world might be now if Jimmy Carter had served a second term.  The alternate reality with respect to energy policy alone is enough to boggle the mind.


Now where are we going and what's with the handbasket?