Who, exactly, is the president of the United States? The occupant of the Oval Office’s first name is George, his last name is Bush, and his middle initial – at least one of them – is W. But is this the presidency of George W. Bush, the son or George H.W. Bush, the father?
In 1988, on the campaign trail, George H.W. predicted his political rivals would want to raise taxes. Mr. Bush promised he would not raise taxes, going so far as to predict he would say, “Read my lips – no new taxes.” That prediction was incorrect, George H.W did raise taxes and was sent to Houston after one term.
In 2000, on the campaign trail, George W. promised he would require reductions of the air pollutants sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury and carbon dioxide. At the time, George W. taunted his political rival, Al Gore, because Mr. Gore had called for voluntary, rather than mandatory reductions. Unlike his father, George W. did not challenge anyone to a lip-reading contest, but just like dad, George W. did not keep his promise. Less than 60 days into the second Bush administration and George W. has restored the likelihood of airborne toxic events.
Sulphur dioxide is familiar to us as acid rain, nitrogen oxide is smog, mercury is poison for all animals, from fish to humans and carbon dioxide is the primary cause of global warming. Maybe next week George W. will endorse the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Just four days before George W.’s announcement, Christine Whitman, the nominal administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, was splashed across the front page of the New York Times, preparing to do battle with the coal-burning power plants, whose smokestacks are at the heart of this problem. This leaves us with two possibilities: 1) Administrator Whitman has no sense of press relations, or 2) Ms. Whitman was as surprised by George W.’s about-face as anyone.
Once again, there’s the shadow of George H.W., who in the Reagan years was vice president and former CIA director, but said he was “out of the loop” on the arms-for-hostages deal with Iran. In 2001, the biggest environmental decision yet made and the nation’s top environmental official appears to be out of the loop. Perhaps Ms. Whitman can commiserate with Colin Powell, who seems increasingly out of the loop on foreign policy. This time, the vice president is in the loop. In fact, the vice president may now BE the loop.
George W., reading from three-by-five cards prepared by the vice president, said that by endorsing the spewing of pollution, he was “responding to realities, and the reality is our nation has a real problem when it comes to energy.”
In a sense, he’s right, we do have a real problem when it comes to energy, but the real problem is that the energy corporations have kidnapped our government. George W. claimed that if we don’t allow power plants to continue belching poison into the air our children breathe, we’ll all wind up with rolling blackouts. The rolling blackouts in California were not caused by environmental regulations, they were caused by the greed of the energy industry and only by the greed of the energy industry.
The real tragedy is that George W. is a “world leader.” By locking in four years of inaction on carbon dioxide, he all but guarantees no other industrialized nation will take significant action at a time when fighting global warming is becoming a matter of grave consequence. What will George W. have to say in a month if spring floods start coursing through the midwest again?
All of this is reminiscent of another phrase favored by George H.W. Bush – “not on our watch.” Fortunately, George H.W.’s watch only lasted one term, and if we’re lucky, so will junior’s.
Responding to Realities
Who, exactly, is the president of the United States? The occupant of the Oval Office’s first name is George, his last name is Bush, and his middle initial – at least one of them – is W. But is this the presidency of George W. Bush, the son or George H.W. Bush, the father?
In 1988, on the campaign trail, George H.W. predicted his political rivals would want to raise taxes. Mr. Bush promised he would not raise taxes, going so far as to predict he would say, “Read my lips – no new taxes.” That prediction was incorrect, George H.W did raise taxes and was sent to Houston after one term.
In 2000, on the campaign trail, George W. promised he would require reductions of the air pollutants sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury and carbon dioxide. At the time, George W. taunted his political rival, Al Gore, because Mr. Gore had called for voluntary, rather than mandatory reductions. Unlike his father, George W. did not challenge anyone to a lip-reading contest, but just like dad, George W. did not keep his promise. Less than 60 days into the second Bush administration and George W. has restored the likelihood of airborne toxic events.
Sulphur dioxide is familiar to us as acid rain, nitrogen oxide is smog, mercury is poison for all animals, from fish to humans and carbon dioxide is the primary cause of global warming. Maybe next week George W. will endorse the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Just four days before George W.’s announcement, Christine Whitman, the nominal administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, was splashed across the front page of the New York Times, preparing to do battle with the coal-burning power plants, whose smokestacks are at the heart of this problem. This leaves us with two possibilities: 1) Administrator Whitman has no sense of press relations, or 2) Ms. Whitman was as surprised by George W.’s about-face as anyone.
Once again, there’s the shadow of George H.W., who in the Reagan years was vice president and former CIA director, but said he was “out of the loop” on the arms-for-hostages deal with Iran. In 2001, the biggest environmental decision yet made and the nation’s top environmental official appears to be out of the loop. Perhaps Ms. Whitman can commiserate with Colin Powell, who seems increasingly out of the loop on foreign policy. This time, the vice president is in the loop. In fact, the vice president may now BE the loop.
George W., reading from three-by-five cards prepared by the vice president, said that by endorsing the spewing of pollution, he was “responding to realities, and the reality is our nation has a real problem when it comes to energy.”
In a sense, he’s right, we do have a real problem when it comes to energy, but the real problem is that the energy corporations have kidnapped our government. George W. claimed that if we don’t allow power plants to continue belching poison into the air our children breathe, we’ll all wind up with rolling blackouts. The rolling blackouts in California were not caused by environmental regulations, they were caused by the greed of the energy industry and only by the greed of the energy industry.
The real tragedy is that George W. is a “world leader.” By locking in four years of inaction on carbon dioxide, he all but guarantees no other industrialized nation will take significant action at a time when fighting global warming is becoming a matter of grave consequence. What will George W. have to say in a month if spring floods start coursing through the midwest again?
All of this is reminiscent of another phrase favored by George H.W. Bush – “not on our watch.” Fortunately, George H.W.’s watch only lasted one term, and if we’re lucky, so will junior’s.