Dan Weiss, from the Center for American Progress, visited the Hannity show last night for a debate with host Eric Bolling. Even though “fair and balanced” Fox News producers stacked the deck with an introduction designed to make sure its viewers at least questioned climate change before Weiss came on.

As a graphic blaring “THE BIG CHILL” displayed on the screen, Bolling introduced the segment – not with scientific studies or meaningful statistics, but with a gratuitous report about the frigid temperatures in Green Bay, WI where the Green Bay Packers will host a football playoff. Bolling emphasized, “Let me repeat, the high is zero degrees.” And then to add further “fairness and balance,” he added, “For all these reasons and more, we’re having a hard time understanding how global warming alarmists are still trying to push their radical position.”

Bolling admitted that “a couple of cold air masses come down and that doesn’t change the whole game” but that “when things start to add up… you gotta say at some point, it’s cold and it’s getting colder.”

Weiss was really quite good. He shot back, “Scientists have a technical term for what’s going on right now. It’s called winter.”

Even Bolling chuckled. Frankly, I got the feeling he believes that climate change is real and was just going along with the Fox News agenda. His spiel of an introduction was scripted, probably not by him. His only real argument was that  taxpayer money is going to study the climate and – without any evidence to back it up – accused the scientists of skewing the results to make them more alarming in order to get more funding.

“I think these scientists are laughing from their lavish laboratories and their vacations up at the Arctic and their nice boats that are well equipped, beautiful equipment, and because that’s all taxpayer money,” Bolling said.

But Weiss nicely smacked down the “phony science” accusation by pointing out that the studies are peer reviewed. And he pointed out that 97% of scientists believe that the earth is warming and that humans are responsible. “That’s about the same certainty we have that smoking cigarettes causes cancer,” he also said.

“A cold snap doesn’t prove anything,” Weiss said, noting that this year will be the fourth warmest on record. He also cited 2010, the warmest year on record, when there were terrible snowstorms, dubbed “Snowmageddon,” on the east coast. “Right now, in Australia, they’re breaking all kinds of heat records. It was 122 degrees there the other day,” he continued.

“Not addressing climate change is costing Americans lots of money,” Weiss countered. “The extreme weather that we’ve had in the recent years, the most severe events, have cost the average household $400 a year.”

But his best line came at the end. “If 97 doctors told you that that lump on your lung was something to worry about, and three scientists or doctors told you not to worry about it, are you going to listen to the 97 or the three. Sounds like you might listen to the three and that’s sad.”

Weiss is one of several CAP spokespeople I’ve seen on Fox lately, each of whom has done well and I’m lovin’ the trend. Regular readers know that I’m a firm (OK, adamant) believer that liberals need to go on Fox and confront their agenda. Too often, however, they are ill-prepared. It’s great to see a shift.