By Bart King
There’s no denying the economic crisis has dominated President Obama’s first 100 days in office. The young administration has been forced to define its domestic and international agendas in terms of economic recovery, and thus far it has provided the vision needed to find opportunity at the center of this challenge.
History will judge the effectiveness of the $787 billion stimulus package and the course set by an enormous budget that proposes to overhaul health care, education and energy. The legislative battles that will be fought over these issues will demonstrate whether or not Obama can skillfully employ the Presidential bully pulpit, a task for which he certainly has the charisma and the attention of the public.
However, he has already proven himself to be a decisive chief of the executive branch, the area in which his experience and ability were questioned during the election campaign.
The environment has been one of the greatest beneficiaries of this authority, as the administration has set a feverish pace in righting the wrongs of its predecessors. Environmentalists have been thrilled—giddy even—to have a President who views nature as a limited resource to be protected rather than plundered.
The Bush administration saved some of its dirtiest deeds for its final days in office—weakening the Endangered Species Act, making it easier to practice mountaintop removal coal mining and pushing hasty plans for oil shale development in Utah. Obama wasted no time overturning each of these and instituting a full review of the Bush’s plans for offshore drilling and the permitting of new sources of air pollution.
Obama’s swift move to return science to its rightful place as an undeniable factor in policy decisions has restored credibility to federal agencies that rely on public trust. Nowhere is this more visible than with the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Bush administration undermined the regulatory authority of the EPA at every turn, viewing it as an impediment to strong business. Despite a crippled economy, Obama has shown that industry will not be given a blank check at the expense of clean water and air. He appears to understand the market can thrive within a clearly defined framework that protects human and environmental health.
Within a week of taking office, Obama ordered the EPA to review Bush’s refusal to allow the state of California to set tougher emissions standards for automobiles. He has since directed the Agency to coordinate with the Department of Transportation to devise comprehensive federal standards on automotive emissions and fuel efficiency—an initiative to which Bush gave little more than lip service throughout his presidency.
