BILL CLINTON: These delays on oil drilling permits are ridiculous. “Bill Clinton sounds a lot more like George W. Bush these days than Barack Obama. In fact, that comparison was easy to make, thanks to Bush’s presence at the conference, and Clinton himself made it. . . . I’ve been missing George Bush for more than two years. Who knew I’d be missing Bill Clinton by this time? Let’s hope we don’t get to the point where we’re missing …. Jimmy Carter.” As I’ve said before, Jimmy Carter now represents a best-case scenario.

UPDATE: Reader Patrick Kelly writes: “I really miss the days when I could believe that your ‘Jimmy Carter is the best case scenario’ was hyperbole.” What’s worse is, I’m generally regarded as excessively optimistic. . . .