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McCain, on the other hand, has no excuse. There are no conservative interest groups pushing to hand day-to-day power over the economy to government, as the enviro groups constantly agitate for. In fact, polls and focus groups show that while many Americans say they're concerned about global warming, it's not at the top of most people's agendas. And most are not interested in taking draconian measures to deal with a problem that may or may not be real. What can McCain possibly be thinking?

McCain has an opportunity to lead on this issue and make an important distinction between himself and Barack Obama at the same time. (It's been my observation that in elections, contemporary Republicans rarely miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.) To do this he would have to frame a real energy policy that's not centered on avoiding a phony threat manufactured by the political Left to advance its collectivist purposes.

FROM TIME TO TIME I get a fund-raising letter from McCain, which starts out with the sentence, "The choice America will face in November is very clear." It could be damn site clearer if McCain would quit chasing after left-wing fantasies like global warming.

In his letter, McCain goes on to whoop up "long-held conservative principles of limited government, strong national defense, and individual freedom."

McCain certainly has conservative principles correctly and economically described. But the principle of limited government is out the window if we turn over energy decisions to politicians and government bureaucrats, as McCain's cap and trade program would do. This would be the biggest increase in government power in our history.

As to the other two principles, an energy-poor country cannot defend itself at all. And where's individual freedom if government document-stampers tell us all when (if) we can use the air conditioner or the toaster?

topics:
Trade, John McCain, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Television, Religion, Environment, Global Warming, Hollywood, NATO, Energy