President Clinton agreed to and eleven months later signed the Kyoto Protocol as gestures, but never sought ratification because the Senate had made clear it wasn’t going to happen.

George W. Bush earned the Left’s enmity by affirming this stance against Kyoto but adding reasons — the sane reasons the unanimous Senate set forth: Kyoto was economically harmful and the rest of the world was staying out.

According to the New York Times, President Obama joined the rest of the G-8 in joining Bush on precisely that stance re Kyoto II, and for precisely those reasons.

Insert gloat here.

Now, this won’t last. Obama is driven on this as much as any other issue as the way to define himself as Not Bush. He’ll sell you all out in Copenhagen, with details emerging next June in Bonn. But for the moment, enjoy it.