Is the internet story going around entitled the "a tale of two houses" true? House 1 George and Laura Bush, Crawford TX vs House 2 Al and Tipper Gore, Nashville TN?

To be perfectly honest, there could be some truth to this. I would need to do more research to find out for sure.

But even supposing that there is some truth to it, would that mean we should respect the leadership of George W. Bush and disregard the crisis that Al Gore has dedicated years of his life to warn us about? No.

Al Gore is a great man and a great leader and I admire him above any other American alive today. He is not a saint. He is not perfect. He has said himself that it is a challenge to put into practice the lifestyle that we should all aim for and neither Al Gore, you, or I has perfectly lived up to our ideals. To me, that doesn't make Al Gore a hypocrite, that makes him a human being.

The truth is that life is complex. In order to warn the world about global warming Al Gore must travel on airplanes and automobiles that contribute to global warming. If Gore refused to fly because jet travel contributes to CO2 that would be very poor judgment. Weighing the costs and the benefits, it is more important to spread the message of warning than to abstain from flying. It's not a close call, it's what he must do given his knowledge and ability to communicate the urgency of the climate crisis.

We need to look at the big picture, Al Gore's private electric usage is a speck of dust. George W Bush and Dick Cheney's policy decisions have led our nation into disaster. America's international reputation is in tatters, the rules of international law have been thrown into the trash basket, and something like a quarter-million people in Iraq are dead because we were deliberately misled into war under false pretenses. Given that, I couldn't care less if Al Gore heats his swimming pool. We have an election-stealing, Constitution-shredding Administration that has misled us into an illegitimate war. I believe it is our duty to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign or domestic. You and I know what justice demands us to do.

Al Gore is a great husband, a great father, a great friend, and a great American. His judgment, character, and intelligence are outstanding. Al Gore's house is not just an ordinary residence. Since leaving politics Al Gore has made a lot of money. He is on the board of directors of Apple Computer, he is a senior adviser to Google, he is a partner in an investment firm. His house is not just a private residence, it is his and his wife Tipper's business office as well. He also has security staff on his property that most people do not require. Yet, his electrical usage per square foot is slightly below average for his region of the country.

News flash: Al Gore uses electricity. He voluntarily pays extra for green power, drives a hybrid vehicle, and flies commercial instead of private. Al Gore is no hypocrite and what he is warning us about is as real as a heart-attack. There are lies, damned lies, and statistics. One number, taken out of context and distorted, is being used by the forces of greed and deception in an attempt to discredit Al Gore and his message that is crucial for our survival. Look at the sources. Look at the motives. See the greater good and the big picture.

It's time to draw the line against these swift-boat smears by people who are masters of manipulation but disasters in being genuine leaders towards a better future for ourselves and our children.

Do the right thing. Support Al Gore to be our next President. Your grandchildren not yet born will thank you.

The truth is that George Bush had his home built, and he had it built "green." Admirable. Al Gore lives in a house that was built years before there was even a concept of "green." So, he has been doing the responsible thing--trying to retrofit it to be more energy-efficient. Unfortunately, he's run into many problems people who do this encounter. There are local ordinances in his community (and in many) that don't permit things like solar panels, windmills, etc. He's been working to get that changed. He is, and has been, trying to make the house as energy-efficient as it can be. In the meantime, he practices conservation measures, like using energy-efficient lightbulbs, etc., and, he purchases all of his power from "green" sources through his local utility company. This power costs him a full 50% more than using conventional sources, but he does at least do that. He also purchases carbon credits to make up for whatever his conservation measures don't cover.

So where does that leave us? Well, let's look at it this way. While it's admirable that Bush has built himself a "green" house, what has he done for the environment as president? His individual personal conservation habits pale next to the damage he's done as president in supporting big oil and big coal companies, in not supporting environmental legislation, and in refusing to even attend Kyoto conferences. George Bush's record on the environment is probably the worst of any modern president. He doesn't even fully accept the science behind global warming or that human activity is contributing to it.

Now let's look at Al Gore. Gore has dedicated his life to working to raise awareness about global warming and to getting legislation passed to combat it. At his own expense, he has traveled the world trying to get people to understand how serious the problem is. He lives a carbon-neutral life. Yes, he takes airplanes (not private jets, but regular commercial airliners) to travel, and yes, he does drive a car, but it's a hybrid (and has been for years). But the money he invests in "green" projects far outweighs the negligible contribution he's making by flying in airplanes. And the work that he's done to raise awareness of the problem has been invaluable. The world now understands the seriousness of global warming, something you couldn't say before he launched this campaign of his.

And what has George Bush done? Absolutely nothing. In fact, he's done worse than nothing. Yes, his house is "green." But supporting big oil and big coal and refusing to make the U.S. the world leader in energy conservation far outweighs what miniscule energy he's saving on his ranch.

I'm not knocking him having a "green" house. Like I said, it's admirable. But of the two men, which one would you say is having the larger impact on global warming?

Hands down, obviously, it's Al Gore.

Well said, EM.

The various attempts to poke holes in all the candidates and activists are so, so tiresome. Michael Moore clearly should lose weight. He is a walking health risk. Does that make his research and presentation on our healthcare abomination any less valid? Of course not.

It is always tricky to decide how best to respond to these things. Kerry tried to ignore the Swiftboat attack and let it get out of hand. Responding to each and every potshot, though, adds legitimacy to some of the more spurious attacks and appears defensive. That leads to being described by the media as "the beleagured ...". Some of the attacks are like the classic joke question "have you stopped beating your wife?"

The house comparison has been around, and the facts are as you describe them. RW bloggers love to recite them and extrapolate them to have some sort of overriding significance, saying, "so who do you trust to save the planet?" or some such.

Your response is good, and it is good to provide it to someone with an open mind who hears or sees the out-of-context smears. Just don't anyone bother trying to debate with the ones who do the smearing. Their minds are made up and they don't want to be confused by the facts!