Sen. Tom Carper is among those who have used every passing encounter to lobby Bush for stronger action to stop climate change. A former Delaware governor, he has known Bush since their days at National Governors Association meetings together. In February 2006, Bush invited Carper and his wife to a small dinner with the visiting king of Jordan at the White House. During a break, Carper got Bush alone.

"That was the first time I sensed a shift in his view of warming, less inclined to be dismissive," Carper recalled. "I said, 'Mr. President, the science is irrefutable. There's a way to reduce this threat that carbon dioxide poses that doesn't put us in a tailspin, that harnesses economic forces and is fair to consumers, and we ought to do it.' The thing that I was struck by is not anything that he said, but that he listened."

So damn tight, so damn committed:

The next morning, Bush visited a DuPont research center in Delaware, bringing along Carper, who used the flight back to press again. "There's a parade that's forming here to address climate change," he recalled telling Bush. "You have the opportunity to watch the parade or lead the parade, and with all due respect, Mr. President, you need to lead the parade."

We get it.

Seven years in, we've made it to "less inclined to be dismissive." Whatever Carper's doing, apparently every time Bush turns around, doesn't seem to be working.