According to The New Republic (bolding added for emphasis):
Much of his testimony, interestingly enough, appeared to be aimed at Senator John Warner, a Republican graybeard who commands a great deal of respect within his own party. Gore appealed to the armchair historian in Warner by invoking the battle of Thermopylae, couched environmental issues in military terms, and reminded Warner frequently of the work they had done together on national security issues. (Gore's rambling aside on the Greatest Generation may well have been targeted at the 80-year-old World War II vet.) The Virginia senator nodded gravely the entire time, and, when he finally spoke, said, "You have thrown down a very tough challenge, and I'm prepared to take some risks and fight for you and our chairman." Although Warner still had some critical questions--not least how to get China and India on board--he was sounding like a true believer himself. In the end, it may have been Al Gore, and not James Inhofe, who went home with the hunting trophy.
Let's hope that people like John Warner can counterbalance the insane/ignorant/evil wing of the Republican Party - James Inhofe, Joe Barton, etc. As Maryland Republican Rep. Roscoe Bartlett had the quote of the day yesterday, "I think it's probably possible to be a conservative without appearing to be an idiot." I think so too, but apparently not for the likes of Inhofe and Barton - or Sen. Chris Bond (R-MO), who bizarrely "raised the question of whether sunspots are the cause of global warming." Ee gads, where do Republicans FIND these people?
We covered a neighborhood festival in Marquette Park and Bond was there shaking hands, etc. I talked with him myself that day about radioactive waste policy and gave him some of our literature. The reason I remember it so clearly is because a friend went on and on about the subtle way in which he passed our literature off to one of his folks.
Point 1. Kit Bond is NO DUMMY. Check out his educ creds. Unreal: Deerfield, Princeton... and... 1st in class at UVA law.
How embarrassing. I'm sitting here in Alderman right now and want to puke. This man has had environmental issues brought to his attention for AT LEAST 27 years.
And he talks about sunspots. This is truly disgusting.