Dems play up their 'green' card

Most Americans may picture George W. Bush in a Texas-size SUV or a presidential limo. But today, he'll be presenting a decidedly greener image, displaying fuel-cell and hybrid cars on the lawn of the White House.

As the Senate returns to a bruising debate on a new US energy policy, the environment is suddenly emerging as a key political issue - and one where Democrats see President Bush as vulnerable.

Two potential 2004 contenders, Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, have recently given speeches sharply attacking Mr. Bush's environmental policies. And former Vice President Al Gore, who has largely refrained from criticizing the president, issued a strong statement condemning the administration's approach to global warming.

In part, Democrats are seizing on the environment because it's one of the few areas where they still beat Bush in public opinion polls. Indeed, on the issues voters rank as top priorities - such as terrorism and the economy - Bush has a strong edge.

But Democrats are also attempting to cast environmental protection in a broader light. The war on terrorism, they say, highlights the need for an energy policy that doesn't rely as heavily on oil and the countries that supply it. And while environmentalism has often been seen as an elitist concern, Democrats are now linking it with populism, arguing that Bush's policies favor companies like Enron at the expense of the environment and the little guy.

"I believe the environment as an issue, combined with Enron, has the potential to unravel some of the White House's current standing," says Stanley Greenberg, a Democratic pollster and strategist. "It has the potential to define President Bush and, to some extent, define his challengers on the Democratic side."

As a political issue, the environment has often been seen as having broad, but not terribly deep, support.

"When people are asked specifically about the environment, 80 percent of the American people consider themselves environmentalists," says Glen Sussman, author of "American Politics and the Environment." "But when they're given a list of issues, the environment drops way down. Even if you take terrorism out of the picture, the economy, jobs, crime, healthcare, education - those seem to be the major issues."

As a result, he says, the environment has not been a prominent feature of most presidents' legislative or political agendas. And most mainstream presidential candidates tend not to emphasize it, either. During the 2000 campaign, Mr. Gore, who wrote an entire book on the environment, surprised many in the environmental community by not making it a central focus of his campaign.

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