Jon Stewart ran a clip tonight of former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer brushing off a question about conservation by assuring the audience that the president believes energy consumption is “an American way of life.” Froomkin picks up on the Fleischer briefing, and quotes Dick Cheney’s 2001 pronouncement that conservation “cannot be the basis of a sound energy policy.” He also rounds up some blogger takes on the president’s born-again desire to preach conservation.

Update (TL): Ari Emanuel adds his thoughts on Huffpo:

if the president is serious about this leadership thing, he's got to go all the way. It's not enough to ask us to conserve; he also needs to be willing to upset his pals in the oil and car industries by demanding that fuel-efficiency standards be raised. (The energy bill he signed in August once again failed to increase mileage standards for passenger cars.) Doing so would result in the greatest conservation of fuel achievable with a single legislative act. Increasing mileage standards for SUVs and light trucks by just one mile per gallon a year for five years would save America one million barrels of oil a day by 2020.

So what do you say, Mr. President -- how about showing true leadership by taking your newfound commitment to conservation all the way?