Reality and good economics . . .

. . . in the White House? Is this possible?

Nobody would ever confuse the Bush White House with a "reality show", certainly not when it comes to environmentalism. But it appears as if somehow, maybe by accident or lack of ideological vetting, or sheer desperation, The Regime is about to incorporate not just an outsider, but an outsider who advocates action against global warming.

Think Progress points out that the new candidate for Secretary of the Treasury, also serves as chairman of the board of the Nature Conservancy, and as such:

Goldman Sachs Chairman Henry M. Paulson Jr., not only endorses the Kyoto Protocol to limit greenhouse emissions, but argues that the United States’ failure to enact Kyoto undermines the competitiveness of U.S. companies.

Shock! Horror! Can you say, "Harriet Miers"? Sure enough,

As a result, Paulson’s nomination is strongly opposed by a coalition right-wing groups seeking to cast doubt on climate science, such as the National Center for Public Policy Research, describing Paulson as “diametrically opposed to the positions of [the Bush] Administration.”

To add insult to injury, Paulson has apparently even connected his environmentalism with his work for Goldman Sachs:

Goldman Sachs, under Paulson’s leadership, argued that the danger from global warming is imminent and requires “urgent” action by government to reduce emissions:

[C]limate change is one of the most significant environmental challenges of the 21st century and is linked to other important issues such as economic growth and development… Goldman Sachs is very concerned by the threat to our natural environment, to humans and to the economy presented by climate change and believes that it requires the urgent attention of and action by governments, business, consumers and civil society to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

There must be a catch. Maybe he also favors forced sterilization of prisoners, NSA intercepts of US Mail, or nuking Iran. It's so hard to respect anything The Regime does.