Nixon:China::Bush:Alternative energy?

Would that it were so, but this is the hopeful part of Richard Lugar's recent talk at the Brookings Institution. I don't usually read speeches by Republican leaders, but Tom Friedman's NYTimes (select, dammit) piece indicated a widening schism between Bush's Strangelovian inner circle, and those with a grip on reality. And reality just can't be ignored any more, says Lugar:

"In other words, by the time a sustained energy crisis fully motivates the market, we are likely to be well past the point where we can save ourselves. Our motivation will come too late, and the resulting investment will come too slowly to prevent the severe economic and security consequences of our oil dependence. This is the very essence of a problem requiring government action. " [Transcript (pdf)]

What can one think when leading Republicans start calling for the government to do something about energy, and even — incroyable— c-c-could he be possibly talking about Kyoto?

"[T]he United States must be open to multilateral forums that attempt to achieve global solutions to the problem of greenhouse gases. "

Hah. I smell MIDTERM ELECTIONS. The rank, fear-sweat of pork-addicted, Abramoff-lubed congresscritters tied to the anchor of an out-of-control White House. It smells like... victory.