Where's the backbone?

Obama is a Pushover on the Environment: Ex-Interior Secretary

Bruce Babbitt was the Secretary of the Interior under President Bill Clinton. He knows firsthand the dangers of failing to push back against corporate and political interests that seek to overturn environmental safeguards and exploit the nation's invaluable natural resources. He himself admits to at times having failed to be tough enough on the conservation front, and letting big business and industry-friendly Republicans trample environmental concerns. But so far, Obama has been a total pushover. Babbitt said as much during a recent interview, and I'm inclined to agree.


Here's his surprising statement, via the LA Times:


President Obama has failed to answer Republican attacks on environmental safeguards "forcefully and persuasively" and to articulate his own vision for conserving American wilderness and water, former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt charged Tuesday ...
Babbitt is giving voice to disappointment among many environmental advocates. Since the midterm elections, the administration has delayed or weakened several regulations bitterly opposed by congressional Republicans and business lobbyists, and given credence to the GOP contention that regulations -- especially environmental ones -- stifle growth ...


More recently, Babbitt said, the administration has acquiesced to riders that conservatives placed on the interim budget, including one that took the gray wolf off the endangered species list in several states and another that gutted a program meant to reduce overfishing.

Need more politicos to talk like this.  Let's hope the admin listens and changes course.  But somehow elections and lobbyists always seem to win over health and sanity.