Shades Of Conservatism

Yesterday Ross Douthat, Daniel Larison, Virginia Postrel, and David Frum sat on a panel and debated the future of the conservative movement. Pivoting off one of Postrel's pet peeves, Frum explains why the Bush administration banned incandescent light bulbs:

It was a characteristic Bush administration maneuver: fight to oppose any large action on climate change (carbon tax, cap-and-trade) but yield on a small symbolic act. Yielding was all the easier since almost all the relevant major industry groups quietly favored the ban. The incandescent bulb is a low-margin item, usually manufactured in China. Very nice to have government prod every factory, shop and home into converting to a more lucrative substitute!

Here's Mark Thompson's shrewd take.