Hightower Lowdown

"The election is a validation of our philosophy and agenda," says Michael Leavitt, Bush's head of the Environmental Protection Agency, which means our natural assets are firmly in the paws of a pack of CEOs, all in a race for short-term profit.

First up will be their perversely named "Clear Skies" bill. Far from clearing our skies, it will let utilities and other polluters pump an additional 42 tons of deadly poisons into our air (and lungs) each year. Ironically, this industry-written legislation would undermine the clean-air standards enacted by George's own daddy, Bush the First.

Also, the White House and oil lobbyists are reviving their old fight to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The plunderers lost this fight in George's first term, but now they claim that the election gives them a green light to roll their trucks, rigs, and pipelines into the heart of this ancient ecosystem. They also plan more mining and drilling on public lands and parks in Western statesdespite opposition from many ranchers, farmers, hunters, and anglers. Big developers, timber barons, and their ilk are lining up with a slew of similarly environmentally-unfriendly proposals.

Millions of Americans who thought they were voting for a man of high moral principle are about to see the real Bush––a man who stands for the right of corporate power to run roughshod over our natural resources and public health.