George W. Bush: Evaluating the President at Midterm

4. An Early Assessment of President George W. Bush and the Environment

Chapter 4 An Early Assessment of President George W. Bush and the Environment Glen Sussman and Byron W. Daynes 55 INTRODUCTION Throughout the twentieth century, the environment has been an issue in presidential campaigns and administrations. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a national conservation policy was first established by Theodore Roosevelt. In the 1930s, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency was characterized as the “age of conservation.” During the 1960s, Lyndon Johnson spoke about beautification, while Richard Nixon declared the 1970s the “decade of the environment.” Theodore Roosevelt set aside millions of acres of public land as national forests and national parks, and Franklin Roosevelt used the Civilian Conservation Corps to both employ young men and to promote conservation. Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and signed into law the landmark National Environmental Policy Act.1 In his run for the presidency in 1988, George H. W. Bush declared that he would be an “environmental president.” Four years later, Bill Clinton became the “great green hope” for environmentalists. In contrast, Dwight Eisenhower viewed the environment as a state and local problem. Ronald Reagan exhibited a distinct environmental attitude: “Reagan’s environmental views oscillated in a narrow band between indifference and hostility. His appointments often reflected this hostility and his desire to deregulate environmental agencies.”2 Reagan’s successor, George H. W. Bush, used the power resources of the presidency to ensure the passage of the Clean Air Act of 1990.3 However, he backed off his commitment to environmental goals due to pressure from business and industry. For example, at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, he signed the Convention on Climate Change only after We would like to thank our research assistant, Brooke Ollerton, Brigham Young University, for her helpful contributions to this chapter. 56 AN EARLY ASSESSMENT OF PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH mandatory obligations were replaced by voluntary guidelines, and he stood alone in his refusal to sign the Convention on Biodiversity. Subsequent to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush used “security” as a framework for public discourse. He frequently talked about economic security, national security, and homeland security . However, to what extent has environmental security assumed a prominent place in his administration’s agenda? FRAMEWORK FOR THE STUDY In order to offer an early assessment of the Bush administration’s environmental policy, this chapter uses presidential roles as a methodological approach.This framework, initially developed by Tatalovich and Daynes in their study of presidential power, identified presidential roles as a “set of expectations by other political elites and the citizenry which defines the scope of presidential responsibilities within a given sphere of action.”4 As commander in chief, the president must balance the competing needs of national security and the environment. As chief diplomat, the president conducts foreign policy.This includes diplomatic efforts regarding international environmental policy.The chief executive role concerns presidential domestic policy making. Presidents, for instance, make important appointments, including the Secretary of the Interior and head of the Environmental Protection Agency.The role of legislative leader involves the president ’s relationship with the Congress.This can include signing, vetoing, or proposing environmental legislation. As opinion/party leader, the president can reach out to the public through a variety of media outlets and the political party. George W. Bush ran for the presidency in 2000 as a “compassionate conservative ” and talked about bringing civility and humility back to the White House. To what extent did the Bush administration include the environment in its political agenda, and in what ways did it support or oppose environmental initiatives? Opinion/Party Leader The president can reach out to the American public through a variety of major outlets, including the Inaugural Address and State of the Union messages as well as through radio addresses to the American people. In five major national broadcasts to the American public, President Bush made a total of 103 references to ten major issues.5 Not surprisingly, almost three out of ten references were made to terrorism. As far as the other issues were concerned, Bush made the most references to the economy, Social Security and Medicare, defense, and education. To a much lesser degree, he referred to health care, civil rights, energy, the environment, and campaign finance reform. If one makes the assumption that presidents talk about their priorities in their major speeches to American citizens, the environment was not a top priority...