The single largest challenge that Obama will face will be to correct Mr. Bush's mistakes. Face it: Bush has ran the nation into the ground. In his 8 years, we have to ask ourselves ... what are his accomplishments? I don't think that he has really accomplished much for the nation. In any event, whatever he accomplished is vastly outweighed by his crimes.

Lets summarize:

1. As a result of Bush's policies (and indeed his predecessors), the nation's economy has been run into a general recession - a situation comparable to Japan in the 1990s. The income gap has also greatly widened between rich and middle class. Bush has done little to protect the world from the negative impacts of "globalization" and manufacturing in America in general has slumped. Soon high tech and other jobs will also go in large numbers.

2. Bush's aggressive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (along with his torture policies) have turned more and more people in the world against the US. Furthermore, the military has been overstretched, vast sums of money have been spent beyond any accountability in many cases, and last, but certainly not least, many innocent civilians have been killed.

3. The general intrusion upon civil liberties. It is no secret that Americans are more and more intolerant of criticism in general, especially the government. The government is now spying on its citizens (and others around the world) freely at will under the pretense of "security".

4. A general movement towards secrecy and over-classification. Government has become more secretive, less willing to comply with things like FOIA.

5. Environment, as mentioned is simply a disaster. Denial of science, suppression of science, and the use of ideology as a basis for national policy.

6. The United States no longer really has an honest media. With the media largely silenced and in the hands of corporations (Bush has done what he can to suppress "free press"), the public has been made less and less aware of this.

7. The use of conservative/religious ideology as a basis for national policy. We now have science classes being adulterated with "faith-based learning" and increased abortion restrictions. Sexual education has also taken a blow and it will be more and more difficult to raise public awareness, should a major disease outbreak occur. Education in general, has taken a turn for the worse.

8. Government itself is now controlled largely by lobbyists who are the true lawmakers. Furthermore, with departments like the FDA, EPA, and others suppressed, morale is often low, productivity has declined, and they are unwilling to perform their normal goals (not mention that they too are owned by the corporations often). Lobbyists also extensively control Congress and the justice system. The appointment of so many right wing justice officials has also meant that we have appointed people who tolerate the trends that have been occurring, regardless of the consequences.

This is a list of many (certainly not all) of the problems that the US faces due to Bush. Although his administration does not deserve sole responsibility for the problems, much of the blame can be attributed to him.

RE National Initiative for Democracy (to allow for citizen-based federal referenda):

I still like the federal referenda idea, but one vital aspect of how it might work isn't addressed: How do you prevent disequalized money from buying-off the ballot campaign?
There seem to be no monetary limits proposed to control what a 'natural person' can spend or donate (no doubt because of the USSC Vallejo decision.)

But, unless money is either eliminated from or strictly equalized within any such referendum's campaign-spending process, a few super rich 'natural persons' could and no doubt would dominate public perception, by dominating the advertizing expenditures for or against the proposed ballot issue.
In other words, the referenda Amendment as currently proposed, would be a similar replay of what happens now, with big money (from whatever currently allowed sources) lopsidedly influencing the outcome of elections.

Until the USSC Vallejo decision is clearly overturned (which basically equates a 'legal person's' 1st Amendment free speech rights in a political campaign with that 'legal person's' private wealth, the crisis of money corrupting the process remains unsolved.
People like Rupert Murdoch, for exmaple, would almost be invited to use the proposed mechanism as a de facto private lawmaking engine.

I note that the NI4D proposal defines 'legal persons' as strictly individual, flesh and blood persons, and this is good. But it isn't good enough, and in fact would be disastrous, if that individual flesh and blood person has unlimited private wealth to put into the ballot campaign with no restrictions.

If I've overlooked something, just on this particular cmpaign financing point, in NI4D's promo literature, I'd welcome correction. [the proposal may well have other, more fundamental constitutional problems -- but I'm assuming not for the moment.]

Otherwise, and simply on this point alone, I'm surprised that highly-informed progressives, like Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn, have publicly approved of this proposal in its present form.
To repeat: At minimum, it seems to have this one, gigantic loophole that its advocates haven't apparently thought through.

Bashing Pelosi seems counter-productive. Would you rather a Repubican had gotten her seat? She is trying to keep a balance. I do not see her protecting Bush, I think she is trying to keep the arguments on a higher level than sheer partisanship. Civility is essential for progress to prevail.

This is a time when we need to curb our hysteria and do whatever we can to fix the damage of the last eight years. We've had enough arrogance, ignorance, deception and sheer greed; it has nearly destroyed us and has made the rest of the civilized nations realize that there is little to admire in us. We have insatiable desire for the latest toys, cheap clothing, the latest technology; we are arrogant and extremely ignorant about other cultures.

The biggest and best thing that our populace has done in decades was electing Osama. Perhaps we will stop squabbling over trivia and begin to grow up.

Tankersley sez: "Energy companies have taken quick notice of the EPA memo: Duke Energy recently cited it in a court filing supporting its bid to build a new coal-fired plant in Indiana."

***
Taken quick notice of the memo? They wrote the damn thing.

Notice how this article on the environment does not mention war economics and how it has put nations in endless debt as the major contributor to pollution.

it is kinda how our government stovepipes intelligence information so that nobody in Intel knows the big picture.

When the Environmental movement becomes the main force in the peace movement, we will see the changes we have been waiting for... until then we will not see the forest for the trees and when the trees are gone there will be no excuse.

And Mr. Obama will face many other Bush 'legacies' too.

The author of this piece must be an innocent, dutifully printing that absurd contention that Obama can't quickly reverse this particular present to polluters without impacting the building industry. Now why should that be, pray tell? And where does Tankersley get this handy information? From polluter lobbyists, whom he quotes twice. Since when do respectable journalists interview industry lobbyists for their facts on issues?

BUSH'S FINAL SELLOUTS

Still not satisfied with his unprecedented sellouts to special interests, this arrogant zealot is now concluding the final chapter of his destructive presidency by surging his war against our planet. Sadly, our congress has defaulted their duties by tolerating these abuses.

These final environmental crimes can be checked by expedient and persistent action from a concerned and motivated citizenry. This can be done--remember the 9/11 investigation that Bush so vehemently opposed while an intiminated congress balked. This happened only because of the perservence of the victim's relatives, albeit the inquiries were impaired by resistance from the Bush team.

The returning legislators, who had been complacent during these outrages, should be denied re-election.

Robert Settgast
San Rafael
415-492-1747 work
415-235-9626 mobile

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ezeflyer -

There is no legal mechanism in the constitution or in federal statutory law for national referenda, binding or otherwise.

I think it's a fine concept --but how do you propose to establish such a mechanism?

I have faith that, with Al Gore's help, Obama can save the environment.

Obama can undo the entire Bush legacy using binding referendums and without having to stick his neck out.

Dubya's exit plans, in a way, are similar to Sadaam's Kuwait exit. But, at least, the fires to the oilfields that Sadaam left in his wake when he was kicked out of Kuwait were able to be extinguished rather quickly. (LOL)

The absurdity of pursuing a so called green policy has reached new heights. Daily evidence is mounting that demonstrates that co2 is not the problem. That earth is warming because of the sun, that there are normal changes in the atmosphere, that sections of the Arctic and Antarctic are thickening, that glaciers are coming and going in a normal fashion.

If you want to do something useful help the world adjust to being warmer. It is not that big of a deal and if we all stopped driving cars tomorrow it would not make one bit of difference.

The herd mentality gone mad. Read the science not the headlines.

The Bush Legacy. http://www.wisecountyissues.com Appalachia is being blown, blasted and bombed right into Third World America. Hannity will tell you Bush has kept U.S. safe from terrorism since 9/11 ??? Bush a is homegrown Toxic Terrorist. Hannity's America sure isn't My America !

Sigudur_11 -- no delusional bubble

I was aware that states can't go lower than fed environmental regs, and only meant that the fed restriction against states going lower shouldn't itself slide backwards.

Re going stricter: especially during Bush's reign, several states have tried to go stricter on a variety of baselines, but have been prevented -- either by Executive administrative law or by direct congressional statute.

Folks, given what is happening in Gaza, this article is of minor importance! Obama will have to deal with a far larger problem on Jan 21: the widespread insanity of most Israelis!

It's a question of priorities!

Check out my psychological evaluation of the current Israeli mindset:

www.dangerouscreation.com

The title of this article,"Obama Will Face Bush Legacy on the Environment" is a template for a whole series of articles. Except the problems really didn't start with Bush (except the Iraqi and Afghan wars which were and are unncecssary)and won't
end with Obama.

What will be important is the direction the new president seeks to move on such issues as: the wars we are fighting, the healthcare reforms we all need, the infringements of civil liberties we have all suffered, and on and on the list goes.

Poet

.The major stumbling block to environmental sanity seems to be the constant infusions of money pouring into candidates war chests from those industries which cause the emissions leading to global warming, rising cancer rates, and all other associated health concerns.

As long as elections cost many millions of dollars , as long as a politician's primary concern is raising those millions, they will be beholden to the polluter who finances them and not the planet which nurtures them.
.
We see things, not as they are, but as we are.
Anais Nin

logos.nine :
Sorry to burst your bubble, but your last suggestion has been in place since 1969. A state can NOT lower Fed regulations, however, as California has done for years, they can be above those regulations.

The disastrous Bush/neocon environmental legacy is hardly confined to climate change issues. That's just the tip of the melting iceberg, so to speak.

Virtually all federal environmental/health & safety agencies have been corrupted by Bush's pro-industry personnel appointments; appointments which go deep into each agency's administrative and scientific levels.
EPA, OSHA, NIOSH, ASTDR, FFDA, DOA, CPSC being merely a few of the most obviously sabotaged regulatory bureaucracies.

Assuming they even intend to do it, it will take years for Obama & congress to restore even baseline operating integrity to these entities [recalling that most pre-Bush regulatory baselines were never very adequate to begin with.]

Meanwhile, industrial-scale poultry and livestock businesses, dry-goods and construction manufacturing processes, and the energy and chemical industustries will continue to poison and place at risk the environment, the worker, and the consumer for years to come.

Rachael's Environmental Reports (accessible via a quick Google search) is a reliable data bank for beholding the suicidal magnitude of America's long-time assault on the biosphere, and for seeing just how additionally destructive Bush's environmental legacy has been.

One way to accelerate improvement of this enviromental/regulatory crisis, would be for congress to allow states and localities to establish higher (but never lower) control and remediation baseline targets than the feds.
If, Obama and the 'new' congress are serious about their loudly touted, election year environmental concerns, they will have to do at least this.

The mainstream environmental movement is a sell out-and has been since Clinton.

Groups need to push hard left--because the idiots on the Republican/conservative side ALWAYS push hard right.

You can never think: oh, we'll go easy on them because they'll do the same for us.

Never has happened and never will.
Bush's midnight laws prove it(thanks Pelosi and all the idiots that voted for her despite her protecting Bush).