To me it seems like good politics for Dubya to leave himself a little room to maneuver on this issue. Michael Kelly had an piece last year saying that the environment was W's Achilles heel. I think he's smart to stake out a more centrist position before the 2004 race gets going. He hasn't really conceded anything, and if it turns out that the electorate and/or the science ends up more dictating stringent measures, Dubya can follow that path now without appearing to waffle during the 2004 campaign. Agreed. And having Rush Limbaugh treated like Sister Souljiah will warm up the soccer moms and take the wind out of the enviro wackos' sails.
How are the Sierra Club, NRDC, et al supposed to raise money and mobilize their base if both parties are the "same" (even though Dubya will take no explicit action)? Great smokescreen by the Bushies and the NYT fell right in. Rush's rant was probably requested by Rove.
An "old bull and young bull" strategy...
Rush's rant was probably requested by Rove.
I think it is more likely that today's (Tuesdays) more moderate Rush is closer to being line with Karl Rove. Today Rush is recognizing:
- the weaknesses in the report,
- the misrepresentations of the NY Times,
- that the EPA is not the Whitehouse, and
- that the danger is that the Environmental wackos will try to take this and run with it, whether the science justifies it or not, to justify more government regulations.
I'm not sure I heard it correctly, but I thought I heard Rush ackowledge today that he had spoken with the Whitehouse this morning.