Why does Vice President Cheney sound so much like Mr. Burns from the Simpsons?
--To speak exclusively of conservation is to duck the tough issues. Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue, but it is not a sufficient basis -- all by itself -- for a sound, comprehensive energy policy.
--But the government has not granted a single new nuclear power permit in more than 20 years. If we're serious about environmental protection(emphasis added by me), then we must seriously question the wisdom of backing away from what is, as a matter of record, a safe, clean and very plentiful energy source.

And then you get responses like this that sound just like a Simpsons script: "Bless his heart," said Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association. "We have been something of the whipping child for some time now. This is kind of like your dad when he compliments you when you were growing up. We've got people in Washington talking to us now."

As my friend Tom likes to say, coal and oil barons need love too.