Since leaving Copenhagen, I have discovered more to report.

It's a rather fantastic moment to moment account of that last day, Friday, at the Bella Center when the deal was sealed.  Jacob Scherr, our senior staff person for our international work, emailed me a transcript of actual comments and observations by a high White House official.  He was on Air Force One on its way back to DC from Copenhagen with our President and his delegation on board.  I wanted to share this with you, but I felt I should clear it with Jacob first in case it was sensitive or classified.  Jacob tells me "go ahead".

Also, amazingly, Ban Ki-moon and his wife sat exactly behind me on my flight back to New York.  He was happy to talk and I asked him many questions.

This is my understanding:

During the first twelve days of the conference, government ministers and staffers, environmental groups, business representatives, special interest groups, charities of every concern - anyone from all over the globe who had something to contribute and the standing to be granted access - met, presented issues, negotiated, made themselves heard at the vast Bella Center.  The Center was crowded with booths, kiosks, conference rooms, tables and chairs set up along passage-ways, a gigantic open press room - all installed on the spot just for this event.  The interplay was spirited, deliberate, cacophonous.  Meetings were sometimes scheduled, often accidental.  All issues were put on the table.  The essential meaning of this bustle and fuss is that a ground-work was being laid for an understanding and hopefully a formal agreement.  Then, the senior staff and the heads of state arrived thoroughly informed and with a basis for making final decisions.

On Thursday evening, December 17, Queen Margrethe of Denmark, gave a dinner for senior UN leaders and the heads of state and their high senior ministers who had arrived at that point.  After dinner at 10 PM, the leaders  went back to the Bella Center and resumed their work with their staff into the night.  President Obama arrived the next morning, Friday, and was said to be intending to give his speech and leave for home soon thereafter.  Wen Jaibao, the Chinese Premier, had also arrived by Friday morning.  It seems I was correct about Obama's grumpy demeanor when he made his speech.  He and Wen had already met that morning and disagreed intensely about MRV (measurement, reporting, verification) issues.  Obama insisted on transparency and Wen refused.  He felt it was an intrusion into China's sovereignty.  The encounter was contentious and hostile, particularly on Wen's part.  It was known that Wen had then gone back to his hotel and that several of his senior staff had gone to the airport, implying that for them the conference was over.  In addition, Wen and the leaders of Brazil (Lula), India (Singh), and South Africa (Zuma) had begun to form a coalition, the four most prominent undeveloped countries.

Obama never intended to leave early.  He ended up spending 14 hours working continuously.  As the morning and afternoon proceeded, he was hoping for one last attempt to work things out with Wen.  He also thought it would be a good idea to meet with Lula, Singh and Zuma.  The US advance team contacted these three and discovered that Singh and the Indian team had also gone to the airport, suggesting they too felt they had done what they could and were leaving.

Meanwhile, as the back and forth between the US and Chinese teams went on, Obama participated in multilateral meetings with members of the European community, Ethiopia, Australia, Norway, Denmark, Scandinavia, the Maldives, and Mexico.  Hillary was at his side.  Obama "went around the table, physically walking around the table, talking to" each party.  Thereby, a second coalition emerged, consisting of the major developed countries and a few minor undeveloped ones.  They hoped that the Chinese would come around again, but if not, they would then reach their own agreement and try to include the coalition of the four major undeveloped countries at a later date.

At one point, in the midst of all this, Obama and Medvedev of Russia met.

Eventually, the US team got word that Wen was also willing to give it one last try.  A meeting was set for 6:15, then the Chinese pushed it back to 7:00.  Sometime before the 7:00 meeting, the US advance team went to check out the room where Obama and Wen were to be, and discovered Wen, Lula, Singh and Zuma meeting in that very room unbeknownst to anyone!  Wen had come back from his hotel with his under- secretaries from the airport, and Singh had come back from the airport with his team.  Obama was informed of this meeting, came directly to the room with Hillary, walked in and asked for a chair (there wasn't one at first), and went to work.  No questions asked, no hard feelings, just "let's get this done".  By this time, the coalition of four knew that Obama and the multilateral coalition had reached an understanding.  The four, not wanting to be marginalized, proceeded to reach an agreement with Obama and Hillary, thereby merging the two coalitions.  New language regarding the previously intractable transparency issue was finally accepted by Wen.  (How very "Chinese"to  not want to be scrutinized, to be private!  Apparently national ethos and manner must be manifest in international agreements, that the conditions are derivative of national character.)

And thereby a majority, at least a geopolitical one, was formed.  All the other nations signed on and the work was done, and at the last minute.

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And now that I have returned to the States, I have time to read press reports by the professionals.   Some of the coverage rests in blatant denial, evidence of Inhofestation, a condition which exists in two forms.  First, as a delusional state for which the only cure would be the Second Coming (meaning there is no cure).  Second, as sociopathy which has to be coldly ignored or tersely and persistently brought to the light of truth.

The news media generally presents an unrealistically negative and suspicious bias (surprise, surprise).  It is also woefully incomplete.  There are many stories bordering on heroism, like the one I gave above.  Certainly, this was a happening of immense importance and painstaking effort.  The inadequate coverage is rather like that of the  Olympics, where we are shown bits and pieces of triumphs and disasters, generally jingoistic, but very little of the day-to-day trials and heats that are the true structure of the event.  Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives was a real surprise.  I assume nobody had ever much noticed him, and then there he was, a smart, articulate, constructive leader.

Of course there is more work to do!  But if everyone would just take a deep breath, rest aside their frustrations and egocentricity, and look at what just happened: all the nations of the Earth (OK, 193 or 97% of them) just came together in one place to resolve an urgent problem that threatens the entire planet regardless of race, region, religion or any of the determinants of identity.  That has never happened before, and it is truly awesome.  And all those nations but five reached an agreement!  That is cause for celebration, big time.