issues, anyone?

I was just listening to a report on NPR about surveys of people likely to vote in the California primaries. for republicans, the number one issue was illegal immigration. for democrats, the top issues were health care, the war in iraq, and jobs and the economy. OK, sure, none of that is particularly surprising.

what is surprising, and even I think galling, is that the environment doesn't seem to be a big issue for anyone. what's going on here? despite increased awareness in the news, popular media (e.g. Inconvenient Truth or 11th Hour), and public opinion, the candidates in the primaries don't seem to be talking about it very much. why not? I think there's a lot of environment good will out there, and candidates could do well to capitalize on it. if a person could show how s/he could help the economy, decrease the national debt, provide health care, and do it all in an environmentally conscious and sustainable way, virtually nothing could stand against that kind of platform. so why not do it?