Mead On Gore (with Hobnailed Boots)

Let the recrimination season begin--Walter Russell Mead lands with both feet on Al Gore for having (Mead's words) "wrecked planet earth."

Frankly, I blame Al Gore. Unlike naive scientists who know little about life beyond the lab, or eco-activists whose concepts of the international political system come from writing direct-mail solicitations to true believers in rich countries, the former vice-president had decades of experience with high politics. It was his job to provide the leadership that could channel the energy and concern of this movement into an effective political program.

This may or may not be overkill, but Mead does draw one unsettling analogy from the abundance of his experience in foreign affairs: the peace movement of the 1920s, and ultimately, the Kellog-Briand Pact which, as we all know, ended war forever.