We've Seen this Movie Before
If you like following the punditocracy, and really, who doesn't, you run the risk of believing that they know something. How many times was health care legislation all but dead? The climate-energy bill is following a similar script. (What creature will the process birth this time, assuming there is a delivering?) Reid announced that the Senate was going to move forward with a bill that must be comprehensive, that is, not just be an energy-only bill. So what momentous events happened to, ostensibly, embolden Senators to carbon reduction? Naturally, they caucused together.

They did what?
David Roberts at Grist writes:

On Thursday, the Senate Democratic caucus held a meeting and everyone emerged giddy as schoolchildren. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) called it "one of the most motivating, energized, and even inspirational caucuses that I've been a part of." Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) called it "absolutely thrilling." Said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), "It was really very, very powerful. It was inspirational, quite frankly."

Another observer this week said that they must have had one of those trust-building sessions where there were motivational speaks and people caught their mates as they stood on chairs and fell backwards.

From here to . . . .
Who knows where this goes. And what again of the White House? Is this proof that "we will find the votes for a bill?" The President is meeting with the G8 and a leaked document fails to follow up on previous G8 promises to phase out subsidies to fossil fuel producers that, worldwide, receive $550 billion. There's little the President or the G8 could do that would be more helpful to move the ball forward than to end these subsidies, yet the language in the draft talks about voluntary cuts as individual members see fit. Throw another Maldives on the barby mate.