The New York Times | Bush Record: New Priorities in Environment

"From the start, Bush officials challenged the status quo and revised the traditional public-policy calculus on environmental decisions. They put an instant hold on many Clinton administration regulations, and the debates over those issues and others are intensely polarized.

The administration has sought to increase the harvesting of energy and other resources on public lands, to seek cooperative ways to reduce pollution, to free the military from environmental restrictions and to streamline - opponents say gut - regulatory and enforcement processes."

None of this should surprise those who dislike Bubba W. What is surprising is that so many mainstream voters go along with this in spite of an overall preference in ecology. Goes to show that Bubbas vote for Bubbas -- and not for their interests. As said in the article:

"The New York Times in mid-2001 and late 2002 consistently showed public opposition to drilling in the Arctic refuge. A CBS poll in the same period showed that, by ratios of better than two to one, those polled said that environmental protection was more important than energy production."

And the real surprise is to see Bubba Bush announcing these news priorities just before the election. Apparently, W feels so confident that he'll bring out the dirtly laundry early. Perhaps this is a harbinger of much worse things to come under a second term.