And many Democrats agree. Democratic National Committee Chair Terry McAuliffe, according to the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, sped around Washington to denounce Bush's energy plan in a Cadillac Escalade, a 5, 800-pound SUV that gets about 12 miles to the gallon. There is nothing partisan about America's refusal to cut back. The day Bush's plan was released, leaders of more than a dozen environmental organizations gathered at a swank Washington hotel to denounce its call for new oil drilling and the weakened environmental regulations. But asked pointedly about whether Americans ought to get out their gas-guzzling SUVs, not a single one frowned on America's consumption habits.
Energy is part of what makes life worth living.
It is a blessing to live in a country which can afford to consume a quarter of the globe's energy. From Disc-Mans to defibrillators, much of what separates people from monkeys is our ability to find the correct size batteries. But it may be misleading to say we are experiencing an energy crisis. The first chart in Bush's energy plan shows that there would be no shortage if people stopped demanding more and more each year. We would not feel as if we were in a crisis if we controlled our ever-growing appetite.