Daily News Roundup, 12/21/07: Sued For The Holidays

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is suing the Bush administration because, due to the new energy law, California can't reduce emissions as much as it would like. Forgive me for saying so, but this is a Raw Deal for the Last Action Hero.

While my lede is goofy, the story is apparently true enough: California (and several other states that planned to require emissions reductions) must scale the pace of their plan to the new federal law. The federal plan reduces emissions much more slowly, with the potential bite out of oil profits being more slight.

The new federal law will increase fuel efficiency standards by 40 percent by 2020, requiring automakers to bring their fleets to an average of 35 miles per gallon.

The California plan, however, would cut emissions by nearly 30 percent by 2016, raising fuel efficiency standards in the state to 43.7 miles per gallon for passenger cars and some SUVs and trucks, while larger vehicles would need to reach 26.9 mpg by that year.

I was disturbed to hear, however, that Schwarzenegger may resort to Collateral Damage to prevent the End Of Days:

"He's got a pretty strong personality, the governor has, and wants to get things done. If the federal government is one of those obstacles, then he'll run that tank he has over it. It's not particularly anything personal, I think."

Fear Schwarzenegger's policy / personality tank. Fear it.

This isn't so much news as it is just kind of funny: there are few things I like better than a joke that doesn't lose flavor even after several iterations. You usually have to make those iterations in separate settings though, rather than in the same setting over and over again. That wisdom on recycling jokes is apparently lost on President Bush, who has accused a few people of stealing the White House silverware several times over the course of his administration. The person most targeted by this wisecrack is NBC's David Gregory, which if you think about, is actually a pretty funny thing to consider: Gregory asks the tough question of whoever the White House Press Secretary happens to be, doesn't take kindly to dodging or answers without substance, and then fills up a duffel bag with forks and knives, or possibly a gravy boat, on his way out of the building. This is, it seems, humor in spite of itself.

I was not expecting to see that Oprah was the deciding factor in the Democratic race for the presidency, mostly because I thought it would be good for earned media but wouldn't make many people all that much more likely to vote for Obama. I think I was expecting to see that it had a negative effect on his campaign even less, but that is apparently the case. Oprah's stumping for Obama left men and some women largely unaffected, but young ladies and older women seem to be turned off by the whole spectacle:

A Lifetime/Zogby poll of women shows that of those 18 to 29, almost a third said they were less likely to support the Illinois senator because of the Oprah support. Older women, over 65, also showed they were ruffled by Ms. Winfrey stepping "out of her pew," as the daytime diva herself described it. About 17 percent of older women said the endorsement made them less likely to support Mr. Obama.

I don't really have a zinger about this one, because I think it is surprising on the one hand and makes sense on the other. This seems to indicate one of two things: that Oprah can tell her audience what books to read and t-shirts to buy but can't effectively make assertions about matters perceived to be of larger importance or consequence; or that Oprah's audience is not a representative sample of the American electorate. It makes me wonder what the Dr. Phil endorsement would be worth.

In other entertainment news, "Charlie Wilson's War" opens this weekend. Charlie Wilson was a regularly re-elected Democrat from East Texas who served his constituents incredibly well and also wasn't shy about the fact that he enjoyed life. The guy was famous for hot tub parties. He also managed to work out a way to help end the Cold War, which is not insubstantial. This story details how a guy like Charlie Wilson — someone who isn't cold and calculating, but is very real, and manages to have a lot of fun while actually getting important things done as a member of Congress — could not survive in today's political environment. I've already said that if I ever run for Congress I'd like to bring beards back. I guess now it is my solemn duty to make a similar pledge to revive hot tub parties. Berthume 2016!

John McCain is back in the top tier in New Hampshire, tied with Mitt Romney. The return of John McCain to real candidate status has been strange to watch, but it should serve as a reminder that, in presidential politics, anything is possible. Everything is in flux now, so I can only imagine the Christmas ad blitz will be entertaining to watch.

Lastly today, Tom Tancredo The Immigration Warrior dropped out of the race for the GOP nomination yesterday. He promptly endorsed Mitt Romney. I thought that everyone would be in it through at least Iowa, and then the caucus buzz saw would take out all but 6-7 total candidates. I guess Tancredo wanted some time off for Christmas.