Beneath the surface of a Cap and Tax debate that has only just begun to rage in this country, a basic premise is largely being taken for granted. Prominent fixtures of the political class, from Al Gore to Newt Gingrich to John McCain, have accepted and declared as fact that the Earth is getting warmer, the icecaps are getting smaller, carbon is to blame, and only government can save the day.

It's no surprise that many free-market advocates were worried by President Bush's speech on climate change last week (see here, for starters) -- I know I wasn't thrilled with it. But maybe he was hoping to bring some liberals (or, more likely, moderates) over to his side? Well, looks like his speech, which announced a goal of leveling off greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 didn't have much success.

I'm in the American Spectator this morning with a piece speculating on the motivations behind Bush's global warming speech yesterday. One thing I didn't note was that McCain's people are probably frustrated by this. While Bush didn't go all the way in endorsing cap and trade, as McCain has, he did substantially moderate his position on the issue, meaning it will be even tougher for McCain to differentiate himself from the current administration.

Monday's Washington Times had a story indicating that President Bush would give a major speech on global warming today -- and that it would likely include a significant shift in climate change policy.

The UN is meeting in Bali this week. Can anyone say pina coladas and sunbathing?!