Q Mr. President, understanding what you say about energy supplies being tight and the debate over energy, which has gone on for years and will continue long through the campaign and into the next administration -- one thing nobody debates is that if Americans use less energy the current supply/demand equation would improve. Why have you not sort of called on Americans to drive less and to turn down the thermostat?

THE PRESIDENT: They're smart enough to figure out whether they're going to drive less or not. I mean, you know, it's interesting what the price of gasoline has done, is it caused people to drive less. That's why they want smaller cars, they want to conserve. But the consumer is plenty bright, Mark. The marketplace works.

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And people can figure out whether they need to drive more or less; they can balance their own checkbooks.

Q But you don't see the need to ask -- you don't see the value of your calling for a campaign --

THE PRESIDENT: I think people ought to conserve and be wise about how they use gasoline and energy. Absolutely. And there's some easy steps people can take. You know, if they're not in their home, they don't keep their air-conditioning running. There's a lot of things people can do.

But my point to you, Mark, is that, you know, it's a little presumptuous on my part to dictate to consumers how they live their lives. The American people are plenty capable and plenty smart people and they'll make adjustments to their own pocketbooks. That's why I was so much in favor of letting them keep more of their own money. It's a philosophical difference: Should the government spend their money, or should they spend their own money? And I've got faith in the American people.

Is it a little presumptuous to dictate to consumers how they live their lives? What about citizens?

Roosevelt expected and frequently called on Americans to make daily sacrifices and to rise up to be better people and better citizens when his nation was faced with a crisis. Our involvement in Iraq has lasted much longer than our war with WWII--which, may I remind you, was waged by a wimpy Democrat against a(n albeit weakened) triple threat of Germany/Italy/Japan. And warmonger, super powered, "tough" Bush can't "win" a war (how do we define a "win," anyway? What is it we are "winning," precisely?) against a third rate army in a third rate country?

Even Richard Nixon called for sacrifice during his energy crisis, and he led by example: the 55mph speed limit, year-round daylight savings, government ad campaigns, even a symbolic refusal to light the White House Christmas tree.

But I digress. Yes, Americans are smart (part of me is saying, "They're not that smart," but that's irrelevant). They also need leadership. You see, people often do what is expected of them; if you treat people like they're "just folks," well then, they start to believe that they are "just folks," that their actions have little to do with the way things pan out, because by golly they're just one singular folk, capable only of being folksy and quaint. If, however, you decide to lead them as people, call on them to sacrifice, to stand up and do what's right instead of what is easy, to actually set attainable goals, I think we'd all be surprised. With the disappearing middle class, a section of our population being hit hard with gas prices, this is a matter too important to leave up to the marketplace. Obviously something is not right in this equation.

It's a little odd, isn't it, that the president wants to have illegal wiretaps (a violation of our 4th Amendment freedoms), wants to illegally detain citizens (a violation of our 5th Amendment freedoms), wants to silence "shadowy" independent groups from running ads with political content (a violation of our 1st Amendment freedoms)...I could sit here all night listing freedoms he doesn't want us to have.

Isn't it interesting, though, that in the end, the freedom he's really proven himself to care about is our "freedom" of consumerism? And what is it we're so reluctantly yet greedily consuming? Is it--could it be!--oil, oil, oil (<- great book, by the way. I love you Amy Goodman!)? Nahhhh.