On June 20, 1979, President Jimmy Carter dedicated the solar hot water heating system newly installed in the West Wing of the White House. A “Who's Who” of solar energy advocates joined him at that ceremony. Although they provided part of the White House's hot water needs, the solar collectors served more importantly as a symbol of Carter's commitment to promoting solar energy to meet the nation's energy needs. This ceremony marked the symbolic height for solar energy within the executive branch. Not only did the president announce new policy initiatives, he did so while publicly associating himself with the activists and government officials who had been pushing for them, and all of this against the backdrop of solar collectors on the White House roof. No activist could ask for a better scene and set of props. The event was not only a symbolic peak but a policy peak as well, for solar had never before been treated by the federal government with such generosity or seriousness.

Yet, as in any theater, scenes and symbols can mislead as well as inform. The White House ceremony conveyed the impression of solar advocates' great success as President Carter announced policies for which they had been fighting for years. Since many of these very same people had pushed successfully for new environmental laws and institutions, one could conclude that a new movement and its leaders had acquired the resources and skills to influence government policy decisively. Yet such a conclusion would be mistaken.