A Change of Heart for George Bush?

Bush is one of the most stubborn Presidents in my memory. He doesn't back down ever, he even refuses to have political ties with nations he disagrees with. This is what America chose in 2004, a strong war-time President. What seems surprising is that he has recently been shifting his position on climate change. This is evident because he has now said he is willing to commit to global emission limits if 'major emitters' (India, China, and others) agree to binding limits as well. This is a logical solution because: If the countries termed 'developed' by the Kyoto Protocol (EU, U.S.A, and others) eliminated emissions and the rest of the world continued unlimited, the only effect would be transferring manufacturing and other intensive industries the developing world, so there would be no decrease in actual emissions, just a shift in where they come from. But that is a whole different discussion for a different post.

Many people are taking his change in position for more than it may be. The question is if he has actually changed his mind about the issue of climate change. It may be that he has now realized that all the 2008 presidential candidates are proposing a cap and trade system as part of their environmental policy. A cap and trade on CO2 is inevitable. Could it be that Bush may be planning on an attempt to push his own cap and trade system through Congress before a new president takes over in 2009? What do you think?