In the New York Times magazine, Judith Warner assesses the collective GOP stance on global warming and speculates:
Whoever emerges as the Republican presidential candidate in 2012 will very likely have to embrace climate-change denial.
I think she's right, which means an issue that normally doesn't factor into national elections may well have a high profile in the 2012 Presidential campaign. That's because the likely stance of the Republican candidate will contrast glaringly with that of President Obama, who, despite his target="_blank">rhetorical shift in the 2010 State of the Union address, believes that global warming represents an existential threat. Of course, since Independents are the big prize in a general election, how they poll on climate change next year may determine whether or not the GOP really flogs the issue as part of their campaign plank.
