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Why not go along with the rest of the world on this issue? Rudy should announce, "I will sign the Kyoto Protocol." That will electrify the press.

* Nuclear power. The only way we're ever going to make any progress on carbon emissions anyway is by reviving nuclear power. Rudy has said he's for nuclear but never makes an issue of it.

The important point is that nuclear is now about much more than global warming. It's about energy and the economy. If we don't stop printing dollars to pay for foreign oil, we're going to lose more than the world's good opinion -- we're going to lose our economic leverage. (I know nuclear doesn't replace oil immediately but it will if we develop electric and hydrogen cars.) France, Russia and Japan are moving ahead with nuclear technology and starting to sell to developing countries. We're doing to get left out if we don't do something soon.

A presidential campaign is a courtship. As David Brooks wrote the other day, people say they're interested in the issues but they're much more interested in personalities. What we're doing is trying to decide who we want in our living rooms for the next four years. Al Gore lost in 2000 because people found him pompous and condescending. John Kerry came off the same way, while George Bush seemed more comfortable in his own skin.

I honestly believe Rudy Giuliani is the most intelligent and engaging candidate in the Republican field, flexible, articulate and certainly capable of inspiring and leading the country. But he's got to come down from his high 9/11 horse and show the voters.

And if something should happen between now and November to remind us of the dangers in the world, don't worry -- people will remember the other stuff as well.

topics:
Hillary Clinton, Global Warming, Iraq, Russia, Energy, Oil