Obama's Copenhagen Speech: The Collapse of a Deal?  | Fri Dec.
18, 2009 9:50 AM EST  No deal. Not even a fig leaf.   He arrived
at the Bella Center at 9:30 in the morning and immediately
huddled in a non-scheduled and tense meeting with 18 other world
leaders, including Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei. As
Obama and the others talked, White House officials told
reporters that Obama had ripped up his schedule for the
day—supposedly the last day of the conference—and was attempting
to rescue the troubled negotiations. He apparently did not
succeed.  After the meeting ended, the summit began its most
high-profile session. Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen
opened the gathering, saying that it is "not too often us
leaders get a chance to chart out a new course for our planet."
No such course was forthcoming. Minutes later, Chinese Premier
Wen Jibao hailed his own nation's efforts to curb greenhouse gas
emissions. But he offered no give on the key matters that had
been raised by the United States: China pl