The title of this blog, by the way, would be an excellent speech exercise for those who need to learn how to enunciate better...but I digress.

I just finished reading the LA Times article about Obama's directive to the EPA to reconsider California's proposed tailpipe emission standards.  I could not be more happy with his approach for two reasons:

It wasn't unilateral.  He didn't say, "It's clearly the wrong decision not to grant California a waiver so they can regulate their tailpipe emissions.  Thus, I as President wave my hand and make the Bush decision go away."  Instead he directed people in the EPA to revisit the decision.  To analyze it and recommend a course of action.

While it's fairly clear from some of what he said that Obama views reducing our dependence on oil (foreign primarily but also domestic) as a national security issue...thus leading me to believe that the EPA will reverse Bush's block on California's standards--he still didn't go with the "I'm the decider" approach.  I appreciate that.

He gets it.  Obama is quite clear on the evidence about climate change.  He believes we should allow the science to lead us rather than a blind commitment to "free markets" that gives preference to corporate profits over the good of the commonwealth. 

At the same time, he's aware that our auto industry is in crisis (still) and thus did not act in unilateral fashion.  I am becoming more and more convinced that he is a leader who understands complexity, who values honest dissent, who practices pragmatism.

Cool.

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