Like any good environmental science graduate, I take the bus to work. This morning, our driver dumped us out two miles before my usual stop. “The President,” he said, pointing to the police roadblock ahead.

As I contemplated the irony of having to walk the rest of the way while President Obama, fundraising cash in hand, took off in his fossil-fuel-powered helicopter, I remembered something he said yesterday.

Speaking in Nevada about the rising cost of gasoline, Obama put in a plug for the administration’s favorite flop, GM’s Chevy Volt: "I've been in one of these Chevy Volts. This is a nice car. It drives well."

As I trudged along the sidewalk, it occurred to me that the President had probably fibbed. He had certainly “been in” the Chevy Volt, but he hadn’t ever driven one enough to know how it actually handles.

When he tried the Chevy Volt last summer, he drove it “10 feet, and probably not above 2 mph,” according to the Associated Press at the time.

[youtube bpK5KqplxK8 Obama Drives Chevy Volt]

So, yes--I suppose the Volt “drives well,” or at least as well as any other vehicle stuck in traffic while the President leaves a giant carbon footprint behind.