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Bush takes on critics, challenges in Florida
By CRAIG PITTMAN and TIM NICKENS
© St. Petersburg Times,
Under attack from environmentalists, Bush visited the Everglades in the midday heat and pledged to support a massive restoration of the River of Grass. Criticized by Democrats who contend he favors the wealthy over the working poor, he will work on a new house this morning in Tampa that is being built for a low-income family by the non-profit Habitat for Humanity. In between, Bush enjoyed a victory celebration with more than 2,000 cheering supporters at Legends Field for the $1.35-billion tax cut package that he will sign on Thursday. "We are just beginning to show the American people what's possible," he told the crowd that braved a brief rainstorm before he arrived. It was a day filled with Florida flavor that Bush capped off with a private dinner at Bern's Steakhouse in Hyde Park. Secret Service agents in dark suits, sunglasses and ear pieces milled in the parking lot of Bern's. Inside, patrons were subject to a metal detector check and purse search. Several asked the maitre'd to be seated near the president. They were discouraged by a brisk head shake "no." He was dining in a private room, they were told. At Everglades National Park in the morning, Bush saw an alligator as he talked of this "beautiful slice of heaven." In Coral Gables, Bush met with about 40 members of the Miami area's Hispanic community and led a discussion that touched on issues affecting the guests' native countries, including Cuba and Nicaragua. And in Tampa, Bush recalled that the last time he came to town was two days before the election, when he held a boisterous campaign rally across Dale Mabry in the Raymond James Stadium parking lot.
This is Bush's third trip to Florida as president. He won last year's historic election after the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the ballot recount in Florida, handing him a 537-vote victory. "A year ago, tax relief was supposed to be a political impossibility," he said Monday. "Six months ago, it was supposed to be a political liability. Today, folks, tax relief is reality." But Bush's choice of backdrops on this trip reflect the new challenges his administration faces. His job-approval rating has dropped from 63 percent to 55 percent, a ABC News-Washington Post poll shows. Democrats have almost a 20-point advantage on handling the environment, and the number of Americans who disapprove of his energy policy has jumped from 43 percent to 58 percent. Demonstrators, some dressed as manatees and oil drums, stood outside Monday's events.
U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., said he and Bush's younger brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, questioned the president about the issue as they flew on Air Force One on Monday from Washington to South Florida. Graham said the president was "very noncommittal" about whether oil and gas rigs will soon sprout in the gulf off Florida's beaches. "His answer was that there has been no change in policy, and there will be no definitive direction until three to six months from now," Graham said. After Bush's 10-minute speech in the Everglades National Park, he was surrounded by members of the audience, which included the leaders of most of Florida's environmental groups. Shannon Estevez of the World Wildlife Fund's Everglades office said that when she challenged Bush to block drilling in the gulf, he said, "If I come up with a better plan than the previous administration, are you going to give me credit?" A dozen people buttonholed the president to ask why his Defense Department decided last month to review the U.S. Air Force decision against allowing nearby Homestead Air Force Base to be turned into a commercial airport. Bush said he had not heard of the issue before his visit. Environmental groups have been battling developers and county officials over the fate of the base near the Everglades since 1994. Republicans and Democrats from Florida's congressional delegation were well-represented at the Everglades event. In the park and in Tampa, Bush emphasized that members of both parties have backed the Everglades restoration and his tax cuts. As he spoke in the national park, an alligator loafed amid the pond apples behind him. Bush noted that the Everglades is the only place in America where alligators and crocodiles live side by side, then quipped, "I'm kind of hoping that's the way it gets to be in the United States Congress." The GOP lost control of the Senate with the defection of Vermont Sen. James Jeffords last month. Bush focused on his promise to spend almost $5-billion to repair roads and buildings in the nation's parks and his request for $219-million for the federal share of Everglades restoration in the coming year. The best revelation in Tampa came not from the president but from his brother. Jeb Bush has been waiting to get even with the president, who won big laughs at a nationally televised dinner in April by showing a naked photo of Jeb as a toddler. "We don't deal in retribution," the governor teased Monday, "because people think it's too cheeky." A second later, a baby photo of the president appeared on a large screen. Young George was asleep on his stomach, his bare bottom facing the camera.
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