Apology tour? What apology tour?

Yes, it continues unabated:

MUMBAI, India — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton opened a three-day visit to India on Saturday by urging India not to repeat American mistakes in contributing to global pollution, and she passionately defended U.S. demands for help in fighting terrorism.

“We acknowledge now with President Obama that we have made mistakes in the United States, and we along with other developed countries have contributed most significantly to the problem that we face with climate change,” she said. “We are hoping a great country like India will not make the same mistakes.”

The notion of American exceptionalism is officially dead.  This administration doesn’t even pretend to hold this country in high regard anymore.  And since we’re primarily to blame for global warming climate change, it’s only fair that we pay for China’s pollution:

With the U.S. secretaries of energy and commerce in China this week, much of the attention focused on the standoff over emissions reductions or small breakthroughs in clean-tech cooperation.   But yesterday, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said something amazing—U.S. consumers should pay for part of Chinese greenhouse-gas emissions. From Reuters:

“It’s important that those who consume the products being made all around the world to the benefit of America — and it’s our own consumption activity that’s causing the emission of greenhouse gases, then quite frankly Americans need to pay for that,” Commerce Secretary Gary Locke told the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.

The idea that rich-country consumers should pick up the tab for some of China’s industrial emissions has been gaining currency lately—but not from within the Obama administration. The argument is that many of China’s factories churn out cheap stuff for the West, not for domestic consumption, so those consumers are actually responsible for the emissions. China, of course, loves the idea.

This statement from the Commerce department makes absolutely no sense from a competitve standpoint.  That the American consumer needs to literally pay the price for China’s environmental problems is asinine.  Assuming that the reason for the department’s existence is to foster international trade for the benefit of Americans, Secretary Locke’s comments should be retracted.  But I’m afraid that this mindset is the rule for this administration and not an exception.

(H/T: Hot Air)

UPDATE.  Just a reminder, Gary Locke sailed through his confirmation hearings without a single voice of opposition from any Republican senator, despite Locke’s questionable background on issues of commerce (via).