Dean Promises to be the Next Theodore Roosevelt for the Environment

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (Talon News) -- The Democrat front-runner in the race for the nomination, Howard Dean, gave a major environmental policy address on Thursday in San Francisco during which he recalled the environmental vision of Republican President Theodore Roosevelt and pledged to provide a new, far-reaching vision in the Roosevelt mold if he is elected.

"One hundred years ago, Theodore Roosevelt saw conservation as not only central to the national social, economic and political health, but as a reflection of basic American values," former Vermont governor Dean said.

"In the century since he lived in the White House, America has forged a bipartisan consensus on the importance of conservation and the responsibility each of us has to pass along a safe, healthy environment to future generations," Dean added. "Today, we have a Republican president who seeks to destroy this consensus and reverse decades of responsible environmental policy. We have a president who seems to regard public resources as gifts to be handed out to special interests."

* Promoting "livable communities." As president, Dean pledged to work to help strengthen urban areas. Dean asserted that this will help protect America's open spaces and will help reduce energy consumption.

* Establishing an Environmentally Sound Energy Policy. Dean's energy policy focuses on energy efficiency and renewable energy. Dean as president promised to require that 20 percent of the nation's electricity needs come from renewable energy sources by 2020.

* Putting the 'protection' back in Environmental Protection. Dean promised to roll back what he claims are the Bush administration's "anti-environmental actions," and he pledged to "work to reestablish important environmental protections, including the road-less rule put in place by President Clinton." Dean supports elevating EPA to cabinet status. He also stressed the need to improve the Superfund and Brownfields programs to clean up more sites more quickly.

* Reengaging with the international community and restoring our nation's role as a global leader on environmental issues. Dean believes America must work toward the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol. He called for adding to this international agreement by including carbon pollution reductions by developing nations as well as developed nations.

"Ask fishermen if they need a healthy ocean to survive. Ask loggers if they need healthy, vibrant forests. Ask CEOs if they need employees who go to work rather than to their doctors," Dean said. "How much productivity do we lose from preventable illnesses exacerbated by the pollutants spewing out of smokestacks and drainage pipes?"

"We can take America back from those who care more about returning a favor to a friend than about creating a sensible environmental or energy policy. And once we do, we can take America forward - and the world with us," Dean said.

Dean as president promised to require that 20 percent of the nation's electricity needs come from renewable energy sources by 2020.

What a completely meaningless “promise.”

First, even if hell froze over, and Dean was elected, he couldn’t possibly still be president when his promise came due. So it’s meaningless.

Secondly, unless he’s personally going to go out and invent these technologies himself, he has absolutely no control over the issue.

Do his dumbass supporters really fall for these utterly meaningless, pie-in-the-sky promises? Are they really that friggin’ stupid?

Theodore Roosevelt --- "Speak softly and carry a big stick. . . . "

With the assassination of President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, not quite 43, became the youngest President in the Nation's history. He brought new excitement and power to the Presidency, as he vigorously led Congress and the American public toward progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy.

He took the view that the President as a "steward of the people" should take whatever action necessary for the public good unless expressly forbidden by law or the Constitution." I did not usurp power," he wrote, "but I did greatly broaden the use of executive power."

Roosevelt's youth differed sharply from that of the log cabin Presidents. He was born in New York City in 1858 into a wealthy family, but he too struggled--against ill health--and in his triumph became an advocate of the strenuous life.

In 1884 his first wife, Alice Lee Roosevelt, and his mother died on the same day. Roosevelt spent much of the next two years on his ranch in the Badlands of Dakota Territory. There he mastered his sorrow as he lived in the saddle, driving cattle, hunting big game--he even captured an outlaw. On a visit to London, he married Edith Carow in December 1886.

During the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt was lieutenant colonel of the Rough Rider Regiment, which he led on a charge at the battle of San Juan. He was one of the most conspicuous heroes of the war.

Boss Tom Platt, needing a hero to draw attention away from scandals in New York State, accepted Roosevelt as the Republican candidate for Governor in 1898. Roosevelt won and served with distinction.

As President, Roosevelt held the ideal that the Government should be the great arbiter of the conflicting economic forces in the Nation, especially between capital and labor, guaranteeing justice to each and dispensing favors to none.

Roosevelt emerged spectacularly as a "trust buster" by forcing the dissolution of a great railroad combination in the Northwest. Other antitrust suits under the Sherman Act followed.

Roosevelt steered the United States more actively into world politics. He liked to quote a favorite proverb, "Speak softly and carry a big stick. . . . "

Aware of the strategic need for a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific, Roosevelt ensured the construction of the Panama Canal. His corollary to the Monroe Doctrine prevented the establishment of foreign bases in the Caribbean and arrogated the sole right of intervention in Latin America to the United States.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the Russo-Japanese War, reached a Gentleman's Agreement on immigration with Japan, and sent the Great White Fleet on a goodwill tour of the world.

Some of Theodore Roosevelt's most effective achievements were in conservation. He added enormously to the national forests in the West, reserved lands for public use, and fostered great irrigation projects.

He crusaded endlessly on matters big and small, exciting audiences with his high-pitched voice, jutting jaw, and pounding fist. "The life of strenuous endeavor" was a must for those around him, as he romped with his five younger children and led ambassadors on hikes through Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C.

Leaving the Presidency in 1909, Roosevelt went on an African safari, then jumped back into politics. In 1912 he ran for President on a Progressive ticket. To reporters he once remarked that he felt as fit as a bull moose, the name of his new party.

While campaigning in Milwaukee, he was shot in the chest by a fanatic. Roosevelt soon recovered, but his words at that time would have been applicable at the time of his death in 1919: "No man has had a happier life than I have led; a happier life in every way."

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