President Barack Obama on Friday scrapped his administration's controversial plans to tighten smog rules, bowing to the demands of congressional Republicans and some business leaders.
Obama overruled the Environmental Protection Agency — and the unanimous opinion of its independent panel of scientific advisers — and directed administrator Lisa Jackson to withdraw the proposed regulation to reduce concentrations of ground-level ozone, smog's main ingredient. The decision rests in part on reducing regulatory burdens and uncertainty for businesses at a time of rampant uncertainty about an unsteady economy.That last line is a verbatim quote of the recent Republican line. Don't believe me? Try this NY Times piece:
On Monday, Mr. Perry called on Mr. Obama to halt all regulations because, Mr. Perry said, “his E.P.A. regulations are killing jobs all across America.Wait, before you say "pre-emptive strike," read the article. Even the more moderate Republicans quoted seem to think Perry is off his rocker on this one, although I'm not sure he is on his rocker about much of anything.
So, if the Obama Administration gives in to every extreme Republican demand, the crazies won't have a platform to run on? In what world is that even close to logical?
