No Thank You, We Like Our Greenhouse Gases

A funny thing happened. The Europeans-- particularly those like Germany who still like us-- thought the reality of climate change was so urgent and obvious that the United States would join them in constructing strong policies to combat it (since, ya know, President Bush throws out some rhetorical bones here and there indicating he is at least aware of the situation). Boy, they do not know us at all, even after all this time.

From the NY Times-

The United States has rejected Germany’s proposal for deep long-term cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, setting the stage for a battle that will pit President Bush against his European allies at next month’s meeting of the world’s richest countries.

In unusually harsh language, Bush administration negotiators took issue with the German draft of the communiqué for the meeting of the Group of 8 industrialized nations, complaining that the proposal “crosses multiple red lines in terms of what we simply cannot agree to.”

[Blueducks' note: Ummm, then what can you agree to, ohh wise Bush administration?

UPDATE: The administration unveils their climate proposal.

UPDATE #2: It's mostly bullshit, of course.]

...Germany, backed by Britain and now Japan [as well as Germany, Italy, France], has proposed cutting global greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who will be the host of the meeting in the Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm next month, has been pushing hard to get the Group of 8 to take significant action on climate change...

...A clearly disappointed Ms. Merkel, speaking to Germany’s lower house of Parliament on Thursday, sought to lower expectations that Mr. Bush would agree to the more ambitious agenda sought by Europe and Japan. “I can say quite openly that, today, I don’t know whether we will succeed in that at Heiligendamm,” she said.

I, however, can say quite openly that you will not succeed, Angela.

This administration is annoyingly predictable and stubborn. Why does this still shock people?