Some Friendly Advice for President Bush

Dear Mr. President,

I was reading the Times of London this morning while making my way to the Cannes Film Festival to see Sicko, my client Michael Moore's movie about the American health care system. You know, the one our government is "investigating" (in other words, trying to stop) by making a stink about Michael traveling to Cuba to shoot part of the film.

But this isn't a blog about Sicko. It's about our ailing planet.

In the Times, there was a front page story about global warming and how the ocean is not absorbing CO2 at the usual rate. This is a very dangerous thing.

I know that you and I disagree about the role humans play in causing global warming. Okay, fine. (Actually, it's not fine... but for the sake of argument, let's pretend it is.)

But I have a feeling that we can find common ground, and that like me and so many other parents you sometimes lie awake at night, anxiously thinking about how to make the world a better place for your kids, and about keeping them safe from the evil doers who mean them harm.

Coming up with a sensible energy policy, one that ends our reliance on oil (especially foreign oil), will allow you to do both -- simultaneously protecting the planet and helping stop the funding of many of the "evil doers," including Iran, Russia, and Venezuela. As an added bonus, our political leaders will no longer have to go to the big oil companies, hat in hand, asking for donations so they can run for office.

Make a bold move in this area, Mr. President, and it will help the economy, dry up a major funding source for terror, and possibly even salvage your presidency (though, I have to be honest, Iraq a going to be hard to paper over). It will also allow concerned parents all over the country to get a few hours more sleep.

Do it for the children -- both yours and mine.