Bush's Climate-Change Feint

"'In this instance, you have a long-term, aspirational goal,' Connaughton answered.

"Aspirational goal? Like having the body you want without diet or exercise? Or getting rich without working?

"'I'm confused,' Axelrod said. 'Does that mean there will be targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions, and that everybody will be making binding commitments?'

"'The commitment at the international level will be to a long-term, aspirational goal,' the Bush aide repeated.

"Axelrod had his answer. 'Voluntary,' he concluded.

"'Well,' said Connaughton, 'I want to be careful about the word 'voluntary.' '

"Connaughton may want to be careful, but the plan the White House outlined yesterday listed no concrete targets or dates, no enforcement mechanism, and no penalties for noncompliance. It also wouldn't take effect until four years after Bush leaves office. It was, rather, a call to spend the final 18 months of the Bush presidency forming an aspirational goal."

Today's USA Today story is headlined Reaction lukewarm to Bush on emissions.

Cartoonist Mike Luckovich didn't seem too impressed.

And a New York Times editorial reads: "Given Mr. Bush's history of denial and obstructionism when it comes to climate change, there are good reasons to be cynical about this sudden enthusiasm, coming as it does on the eve of the meeting of the Group of 8 industrialized nations."

The Three Lead Stories

Writing in The Washington Post, Michael A. Fletcher and Juliet Eilperin report: "President Bush sought yesterday to take the initiative on global warming talks in which the administration had previously been a reluctant participant, offering to launch negotiations aimed at having the world's most prolific polluters agree on long-term goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"The proposal, which Bush unveiled in a speech outlining his priorities for the Group of Eight summit in Germany next week, signaled a shift in the administration's often-criticized approach to combating global warming while offering what the president called a 'new framework' for addressing the issue.