Whitman Defends Bush Flip-Flop

W A S H I N G T O N, March 16 -- EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman says she has no hard feelings about President Bush's reversal of a campaign pledge that would have regulated some air pollution from power plants.

Right up until Bush's flip-flop on Tuesday, Whitman had been touting the administration's plan to limit the emission of carbon dioxide, which is believed to be a factor in global warming.

"We're fine," she told reporters today, saying the president made the right decision and still sees the environment as a top priority.

"He was recognizing, and he still recognizes and was very strong in his response to Congress in the letter he sent up that global climate change is a very serious issue on which we must focus our attentions," Whitman said.

In his letter to Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., Bush cited an energy crisis for changing his position. But Bush wrote that he still supports a "comprehensive and balanced energy policy that takes into account the importance of improving air quality."

Published reports say Whitman was "unhappy" with Bush's decision, feeling it undermined her authority. She has refused to talk about it, and some in the White House were not pleased with her silence.

While defending the president today, she did acknowledge that he broke a promise.

"He didn't back down... Well, he did," she said. "I mean in a sense that he made a very definitive statement."