Mother Nature has a dark sense of humor.

Today, on Earth Day, President Bush was due to give a speech touting his environmental record inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Unfortunately, literally at the very minute Air Force One touched down at our local airport, a major thunderstorm hit the airport, knocking out power. The winds all over the area were so high, and the hail so large, that the planned helicopter trip that was to take Bush from the airport to the Park had to be scratched.

So Bush was forced to make his big Earth Day appearance inside an airport hangar. Then he got back on the plane 15 minutes later and left for Crawford, where he plans to spend the rest of Earth Day relaxing with his family friend, Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. (Apparently his handlers didn't clue in to how bad it looks for him to meet with the crown prince of petroleum on Earth Day...)