New York Times:

[Massachusetts senator John] Kerry last week sought to change the vernacular surrounding the climate bill and sell its concepts more broadly, insisting it is not a “cap and trade” proposal but a “pollution reduction” bill. “I don’t know what ‘cap and trade’ means. I don’t think the average American does,” Kerry said. “This is not a cap-and-trade bill, it’s a pollution reduction bill” (E&E Daily, Sept. 25).

Not only does Kerry think the average American is stupid, if Kerry doesn’t know what “cap and trade” means, why does he mention it so many times on his Senate website? Just one example:

The bill establishes an economy-wide cap-and-trade program for greenhouse-gas emissions. Such systems use the power of the marketplace to reduce emissions in a cost-effective and flexible manner. In practice, cap-and-trade systems create a financial incentive for emission reductions by assigning a cost to polluting. A key advantage is that it gives companies flexibility in the manner in which they may achieve their emission targets. Another advantage is that it sets a clear limit on emissions. The Kerry-Snowe bill freezes emissions levels in 2010 and then gradually reduced each year until we hit 65 percent below 2000 greenhouse-gas emissions levels by 2050. Such reductions are in line with what the science tells us we need to achieve in order to avoid catastrophic climate change. While it’s not easy for a Red Sox fan to quote legendary Yankees catcher Yogi Berra, he was right when he warned that “it gets late early out there.” The truth is, it’s late already. But it’s not too late if we get serious about tackling global climate change.

To paraphrase Yogi Berra, “John Kerry didn’t really say everything he said.”

OK, one more: “When you come to the fork in the tongue, take it.”