During the 1973 energy crisis, RN took criticism for his habit of running the fireplace and the air conditioning at the same time. And so it is worth noting this item from today’s New York Times:
The capital flew into a bit of a tizzy when, on his first full day in the White House, President Obama was photographed in the Oval Office without his suit jacket. There was, however, a logical explanation: Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat. “He’s from Hawaii, O.K.?” said Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, who occupies the small but strategically located office next door to his boss. “He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there.”
The president’s practices are particularly awkward in light of his campaign rhetoric on energy independence:
I won’t pretend this change will be easy or that it will come without significant cost or some measure of sacrifice from the American people. Achieving energy independence is one of the greatest challenges we’ve ever faced, and it will be the great project of our generation.
Apparently, sacrifice does not start in the Obama Oval Office.