Mike Leavitt — how long will he be smiling?
Photo: Utah governor’s office.
There has been considerable adverse comment from the environmental community about President Bush’s nomination of Utah Gov. Michael Leavitt (R) to head the U.S. EPA. Most of that criticism has focused on the governor’s environmental record in Utah, a record that appears to have both positive and negative elements. That he has been concerned about growth issues is certainly to his credit. I personally believe, however, that while Leavitt’s record should receive careful scrutiny, the central issue today is not so much the environmental record of the nominee as the record and ongoing intentions of Bush and his administration in relation to the environment overall and to the EPA in particular.
The last EPA administrator, Christie Whitman, had a very decent environmental record as governor of New Jersey, particularly in the protection of open spaces. And I think she did her best at the EPA. However, my sense is that, from the beginning of the Bush administration, the White House has constantly injected itself into the ... Read more
