David Gergen is a frequent go-to guy on news programs looking for good-old-boy Washington insider conventional wisdom. Gergen served in the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, as well as Clinton Whitehouses. He’s maintained his position thru an exquisite sense of where the center of the body politic is moving, and positioning himself exactly there. You would never get anything cutting edge or remotely innovative from this commentator. That makes his recent comments all the more telling.
In the piece above, (at about 1:15 if you’re rushed) Gergen describes President Obama’s initiatives on climate change as the most significant foreign policy initiatives of this presidency. More evidence that even the most jaded political hacks now get it that this is an issue that has to be dealt with, that is important now, and will be more important in the years to come.
Additional evidence can be seen in the high profile new series of ads put out by Exxon Mobil. In these “Energy Quiz” ads, although climate change is not explicitly acknowledged, the importance of CO2 emissions is, as here.
Greenwashing? Sure. But – Hypocrisy is the Tribute that Vice pays to Virtue.
Below, another in the series that predicts great efficiency increases in future auto fleets. (underestimate, in my view, but still worth a look)
Oh goody. I’ve never been able to put it in so few words.
“Hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue” is absolutely perfect. I know I’ve heard it before but it’s never come to the front of my mind when I’ve needed it.