The writer has simply copied a narrative from other issues, which may or may not have been accurate to begin with, and pasted it into the climate change debate.
Let's compare two statements in the article. First the writer claims,
Indeed, the president has made no concrete demands of the Senate, preferring to let Majority Leader Harry Reid direct the bill – a hands-off approach that is unlikely to produce a measure of any substance.
But when it's time to blame someone for compromises in the watered down Kerry-Lieberman bill the article claims the opposite:
The White House was deeply engaged in the negotiations. "There have been almost 200 meetings or calls between Cabinet members, White House officials and senators on this issue," says Browner. "We've got everyone from Steven Chu to Ken Salazar to Lisa Jackson engaged. I've probably been up there in the Senate on this issue 50, 60, 70 times during this Congress, talking to both Republicans and Democrats."
Is the President deeply involved or hands off? It can't be both.
They correctly identify problems with the Kerry-Lieberman Senate bill.
In private, big energy firms were offered sweetheart deals to acquiesce to the climate bill, including expanded offshore drilling for oil giants like BP and taxpayer subsidies for coal and nuclear interests that outstripped those for clean energy. "Kerry-Lieberman read like an industry wish list," says a top Senate environmental staffer. "The bill invests heavily in coal and nuclear, but doesn't do a heck of a lot for efficiency and renewables."
So it was the Senate wheeling and dealing with industry lobbyists. This fits the pattern of the Senate being the main roadblock that's deep in the pockets of special interests. But this article lets the Senate off the hook and goes back to bashing Obama.
I'm seriously pissed about this bill not passing. But I'm also tired of people who obviously care less about the issue and more about finding an excuse to blame Obama for everything.
We can't win if we don't have an honest discussion about what the real obstacles are.