President William J. Clinton signed the Kyoto Protocol, but did not ratify it, while President G.W. Bush eliminated the signature completely. Clinton believed that a nation-wise approach with a target in mind to reduce greenhouse gases was the best way to deal with human activity-induced climate change issues. However, he was not completely won over by the treaty and Senate refused to sign it without further negotiation. According the Global Climate coalition, "The Clinton administration acknowledges that the protocol is a 'work in progress,' does not meet the requirements set unanimously last year by the Senate for signing the Protocol, and is not ready to be submitted to the Senate for approval."

Is that because Clinton saw the writing on the wall and abandoned socializing health care?

Or perhaps it's the royalty relief he offered to drilling companies to drill in the deepwaters of the GOM?