'We' Climate Campaign: Glossy, But Will It Work? - TIME

Politicians, of course, follow public opinion, and that's what the We Campaign is trying to influence. But it's fair to question just how successful the ads have been. 2008 was supposed to be the year that climate change finally became a major issue in a Presidential election, yet global warming has been anything but hot on the campaign trail. Both candidates can claim at least a little greenness — though John McCain's environmental record has been tarnished in recent months — but the reality is that candidates aren't talking about climate change because it's not high on the list of voter priorities. Sky-high gas prices are, however, and many voters have responded more positively to McCain's call to expand offshore drilling than Barack Obama's more measured plans for alternative power and energy efficiency. The We Campaign proudly claims that it has enlisted more than 1.5 million people so far. That's an impressive number, but a more pertinent number might be 3: the number of supervisors for Santa Barbara County in California who voted in support of offshore oil drilling — one more than the number who voted against. We's message is getting lost in the noise of recession and high energy prices.