Wednesday

I’ll leave it to Friday to give his take on the New Hampshire result. As I see it, it is early days yet, a very long road to November.

Just in case you are bored with the excessive media coverage of the primaries, it might be useful to imagine What’s at Stake. Here is one example. The wonderful website monitoring the Bush White House’s environmental record reported a few days ago that the administration now proposes to control what Americans are told about public health emergencies. The idea, apparently, is to diminish the authority of the federal agencies concerned with health and environmental safety, and to vest all decision making over what the public hears about environmental hazards and threats to the White House. In other words, spin, spin, and more spin.

What’s particularly interesting is the plan to give the White House more authority to determine which scientists participate in regulatory peer review in studies concerned with the environment and public health. In other words, spin the message and tie the messengers in knots.

Two quick comments. Firstly, to be honest, I was one of those who felt that Rampton and Stauber went a bit overboard in their book, Trust Us, We’re Experts, on the politics of corporate spin concerning the environment. But hell, the more I follow the administration’s environmental record, the more I can’t help but take these guys really seriously.

Second, attempts at controlling federal regulatory peer review are not new. The last time round, I believe under the Reagan administration, they bombed under the onslaught of public pressure. This time round, however, I am yet to see a major news source carry the story. I’d hope that if these rumors are true, there is enough grist to feed not just a rumor mill but an election campaign. The question is: will the candidates to challenge Bush manage to devise a way to get such issues to count in the national election?

Comments

[Friday]

It doesn't surprise me--just part of a pattern of of the White House centralizing and controlling information flow. It's quite remarkable listening to various low-level administrative officials these days--nobody goes one iota off message while speaking publicly.

BTW, since you like the bushgreenwatch site, you should visit www.activistcash.com. It's pretty entertaining--it claims to expose the truth about progressive interest groups and activists. The most hilarious thing on it is the statement saying "Unlike the groups we track, ActivistCash does not receive foundation funding." Well,that's because their funding is corporate.