Well you know things are going bad with the war in Iraq and the economy when President Bush schedules a Rose Garden speech to talk about the administration's climate change strategy. We'd only have been more surprised if the topic was universal healthcare.

Yes, as officials from the world's larger carbon polluters prepare to meet later this week in Paris, Bush will discuss America's "long term" and "realistic" climate change goals in a speech tomorrow morning. We're guessing those two aren't one in the same, and White House spokesman Dana Perino would not say whether Bush's proposals would include a mandatory cap on greenhouse gases.

Given that the administration continues to fight and/or ignore last year's Supreme Court ruling that the EPA must regulate CO2 as a pollutant, we're not exactly holding our breath either. What we do expect is to be underwhelmed with the same tired platitudes about our addiction to oil and the need to "stop pollutin' so much." If we hear a single, specific target, we'll be shocked. We're hoping someone at least asks him about the Lieberman-Warner bill that is expected to hit the floor in June.

As public relations goes, we have to admit that this speech is a smart move and something of a win-win for Bush. Expectations couldn't be lower, and the White House isn't making us any more optimistic by issuing disclaimers the day before the speech. Bush is not likely to raise the bar, yet he still will give the media some new (or at least rehashed) environmental rhetoric to talk about for at least an entire news cycle.

Surprise us, Mr. President. Please.