It's not easy going green

As the unfortunate culture wars in American politics have been revived in time for the November elections, there's nothing more refreshing than thinking far beyond our borders for some needed perspective on matters that are hardly sexy. Or just about sex.

Global thinkers Thomas Friedman and Fareed Zakaria engage in a lively Q & A on the former's new book on global warming and environmentalism. I've had my disagreements with both, namely their often too-sweeping pronouncements, but this conversation sure beats the hell out of whether Sarah Palin's pregnant teenage daughter is a viable campaign issue:

"America's problem is that we've lost our way--we've lost our groove as a country. And the basic argument of the book is that we can solve our problem by taking the lead in solving the world's problem."

But it's a yawner to the American electorate beyond the "drill, drill, drill" refrain. And it's probably too late to avoid the red meat fare we're going to be served for the next two months.