President Obama made a visit to Home Depot in Alexandria, Virginia, yesterday to talk about weatherization.

"I know the idea may not be very glamorous, although I get really excited about it. Here's what's sexy about it: saving money," ABC News reported the president as saying to the gathered crowd.

I agree that saving money is good, and doing it through weatherization projects is even better, because weatherization turns into long-term savings. But sexy? Ummm, no. I can't quite picture it. A better dictionary or thesaurus might be in order here.

President Obama's proposed "Cash for Caulkers" program has received a good deal of press in recent weeks. The program would reimburse homeowners for energy-efficient appliances and insulation. Under the program he has proposed, a homeowner could receive up to $12,000 in rebates.

Yes, that's $12,000, which is a hefty sum, assuming a homeowner has an initial $24,000 to invest in energy efficiency upgrades. Many of us don't, especially in the current economy. But if 50 percent of our upgrade investments are refunded to us, then each of us benefit, no matter what our initial investment entails. I'm all for that.

Energy efficiency investments now mean savings down the road, especially as it's pretty clear energy rates are going to increase, depending upon the cap-and-trade measures ultimately adopted by the federal government in its upcoming energy bill.

But getting consumers to look at them as "sexy"? Well, I still think that's still quite a stretch. I'm not sure weatherization projects are inspiring a lot of passion at the moment.

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