As Think Progress first pointed out, things got a little heated on Lou Dobbs’s radio show Tuesday when Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) brought up the climate summit in Copenhagen, and posited that President Obama will commit to the provisions of the Waxman-Markey bill, even though he doesn’t have the authority to do so since the bill has not yet passed the Senate.
Dobbs responded: “Who the hell does this president think he is?”
Inhofe apparently became concerned about the President’s intentions after he “had an interview” with a station in Copenhagen, and found “that they were all under the assumption the president could unilaterally” commit to the emission standards given in the Waxman-Markey bill. According to Inhofe, this is the main reason he intends to attend the summit himself, “to make sure that countries were fully informed that we are not going to be passing legislation that will accomplish what President Obama I believe is going to tell on the 9th.”
That’s when Dobbs gets mad. “Senator,” he says, “this begs the question, if I may put it forward right now: Who the hell does this president think he is?”
Inhofe responded: “I don’t know, because you can’t do that. And I think it’s certainly disingenuous to mislead countries into thinking that a president . . . You know, this is not a kingdom. He’s not able to do that.”
Dobbs scoffed, “Not yet!”
In a previous statement on the President’s trip, the White House contradicted Inhofe’s “unilateral” claim, saying that the President’s planned commitment will be “in the range of 17% below 2005 levels in 2020 and ultimately in line with final U.S. energy and climate legislation.”
Here’s the full audio on Dobbs:
And in other Dobbs news from today, a CNBC spokesperson has confirmed that Dobbs will not be hired by the network, following reports that the two had recently engaged in talks.
Dobbs, for his part, denied such talks had even taken place.
