Energy Secretary Chu Likens Americans to Unruly Teens, Then Has P.R. Obfuscate About It

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has a Nobel Prize (in physics) and big plans for the environment as part President Obama's "Green Team."

He also has a stunningly paternalistic and off-putting view of typical Americans like you and me:

Speaking on the sidelines of a smart grid conference in Washington, Dr. Chu said he didn't think average folks had the know-how or will to to change their behavior enough to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

"The American public… just like your teenage kids, aren't acting in a way that they should act," Dr. Chu said. "The American public has to really understand in their core how important this issue is."

And like a fast-learning pol, he knows how to follow up offensive comments with phoney-baloney lip service via spokespeople:

Energy Department spokesman Dan Leistikow added: "Secretary Chu was not comparing the public to teenagers. He was saying that we need to educate teenagers about ways to save energy."

Scott Stein observes:

Are you kidding me? Just how stupid does Dan Leistikow think people are? Chu's intended meaning can't be disputed. Chu's entitled to his opinion, and some might agree with him that Americans are like misbehaving teenagers. But no one can read his statement and think "he was saying that we need to educate teenagers about ways to save energy." Don't try to convince us that this is what he meant. It's insulting. We know what he meant. We can read.

More here, via When Falls the Coliseum, "a journal of American culture (or lack thereof).