Barack Obama threw a bone to the hippies today by announcing his plan to place solar panels on the White House roof. Take that, hydrocarbons. But won't the next Republican president just rip these panels off, again?

The White House's plan isn't especially ambitious, but whatever. It will place "photovoltaic solar collectors and a solar hot water heater atop 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to heat water and provide a small amount of electricity for the residence." Basically, the Obamas can take long showers now without the twinge of guilt.

Solar panels used to be a prominent fixture on the White House roof, you know — all the way back in the 1970s. Jimmy Carter installed 32 solar panels in 1979, to heat water and what not. Then Ronald Reagan came in, dismantled them, and dumped them in a government storage facility. Ronald Reagan did this because he was a dick.

Will President Palin destroy these new Obama panels when she takes office? It would make for an easy campaign promise, after all.

[Image via Getty]