So far Obama has been an utter failure. The problems are difficult and his administration has not been up to the task. Part of that is political distortion of policies, and part is incompetence. Some think that the worst is yet to come, but immanent.

Not since a misguided piece of legislation imposed tariffs that turned a recession into a depression has there been a piece of legislation as bad as Waxman-Markey. . .

It's what Janet Napolitano, secretary of Homeland Security, might call a "man-caused disaster," a phrase she coined to replace the politically incorrect "terrorist attack." But no terrorist could ever dream of inflicting as much damage as this bill. . .

It is the largest tax increase in American history — a tax on all Americans — even the 95% that President Obama pledged would never see a tax increase.

It's a political bill that could come to a vote now that a deal was struck with farm-state legislators concerned about the taxation of even bovine flatulence.

As part of the agreement reached Tuesday night and announced by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Beverly Hills, agricultural oversight for cap-and-trade was transferred from the Environmental Protection Agency to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. . .

The American Farm Bureau warns that cap and trade would cost the average farmer $175 on every dairy cow and $80 for beef cattle. So farm-state politics trumped climate change. . .

And what would we get for all this pain? According to an analysis by Chip Knappenberger, administrator of the World Climate Report, the reduction of U.S. CO2 emissions to 83% below 2005 levels by 2050 — the goal of the Waxman-Markey bill — would reduce global temperature in 2050 by a mere 0.05 degree Celsius. . .

This empty but expensive gesture will do nothing about the climate. It's what a certain caste of venal politicians do instead of good governance. They exploit the problem to advance destructive aspects of their agenda under cover of claims about emergencies.

Those who are sincerely concerned about climate change should be appalled since this legislation assures that nothing useful will be done. All of the political and material capital needed for useful policies is being squandered.