I was talking more about Bush speaking directly to the American people encouraging them to buy hybrid cars and conserve as the patriotic thing to do. He did tell us to keep doing what we were doing before 9/11. He has given lip service to conservation in speeches, but in reality cut the program for a new generation of vehicles, calling it a failure, which it was not. Research is not an end in itself. The results can appear later, as with the spinoffs of the Apollo moon program, and not be recognized as a direct result of that research. It also pays off by keeping engineers thinking on the cutting edge by challenging them, and keeping them fine tuned.
BTW, I wonder if the word consumption below was a not-so Freudian slip....
"We've also, in the bill I submitted, made it clear that any good comprehensive energy plan must encourage consumption by providing over $3 billion of consumer tax credits, available for those who purchase hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles over the next 11 years. In other words, there is a role for the federal government, not only to encourage research and development, but a role to provide tax credits to enhance the marketplace."
I recall that he ridiculed Gore during the campaign for calling for tax credits for hybrid cars, while his true believers cheered wildly. Funny that the "liberal" news media can't find a tape of his comments, which are an obvious contradiction to what he is saying now. I doubt if he even knew what a hybrid car was when he made the wisecrack.
Del |
