Barack Obama hits "secretive oil billionaires" in first campaign ad

Obama has reduced this to a purely political calculation: the chances of getting conservative and indep votes. That's it. Where's the statesmanship? Where's the message that did get him elected in 2008? I blogged about this the other day here on G+ and in GreenBlog. It's a terrible sign of where our country is on this issue in 2012. The only hope is that he'll go back to the 2008 Obama in 2013 if he wins. If he doesn't, it will be game over for the climate anyway under the new Republican prez, so...

+Alex Diaz It's the mixed feelings that every enlightened American is feeling now. The idea that Obama is on the 'left' is ludicrous. Most of his major policies were actually Republican ones (e.g. health care, cap and trade)... there isn't an environmental candidate in this election; the choice is apathetic centre-right candidate or anti-environment candidate.

You're mostly right, Will, and I say mostly only because I do credit Obama a bit more for what he HAS done for climate and the environment, more than any Republican would have done or will do 2013-2017. It's not as appealing as it seemed when he took office -- and that remains our main gripe -- but it's not as dire as the folks on the other side of the aisle. But you're right that he's not a progressive president or candidate, by any stretch. He's straight center.

+Alex Diaz I agree with your comment and at this point, I find the argument "Obama is a lesser evil than a Republican president" to be a pretty lame excuse. No more blank checks. We do not have the time for this BS. The amount of disappointment in the environmental community on the Obama government is huge. Reducing our dependence on fossil fuel, killing the GMO industry, supporting the transformation of the whole food supply chain are some of the radical turns that this country needs to take not continue useless wars or pursue the multiple distracting issues the Republicans have at heart. We are 15 to 20 years behind Germany and Sweden in transforming the economy and we have been at war for most of that time.

That's exactly right, +Jacques Sapriel In fact, you bring up a deep structural problem we have in America: The country's deep political divide does not allow for the radical turns, as you aptly put it, that are needed to reverse climate change. It's our curse, that climate skepticism has so grabbed the imagination of so many as to paralyze radical action. Other democracies don't have that problem because they don't have anywhere near the schism. That, of course, forces leaders like Obama to move to the center and simply do what he can, which simply won't get it done for the climate, but is far better than having a Republican in office. It's what we got.

+Alex Diaz Yes and , in my opinion, the deep political divide has more to do with needed constitutional issues (two party system does not allow change) and radical election finance reform than anything else. If you change the rules of the change, you change the game and the relationships between the protagonists in the game. BTW Alex are you East Coast based? If so, check out my site: PhillyEcoCity.com

It's always going to be contentious in an election year. To give Obama his due I saw him walking to congress the other day, small steps and all that :)