Obama's On Hand To Fix Two Terms Of Bush

No need to worry about any last-minute shenanigans by Bush. President Obama's transition chief said yesterday that the incoming administration is looking to reverse many of President Bush's executive orders on stem cell research, oil and gas drilling and other matters. Advisers to the new President have already compiled a list of about 200 Bush executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse damaging policies put in place over the last eight years.

The list of executive orders targeted by Obama's team could well get longer in the coming days, as Bush's appointees rush to enact a number of last-minute policies in an effort to extend his legacy. The Big O himself has signaled he intends to reverse Bush's controversial limit on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, a decision that scientists say has curtailed the search for cures for various diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. In addition, the federal Bureau of Land Management is opening about 360,000 acres of public land in Utah to oil and gas drilling, a move that the Big O is expected to rescind.

The new president is also expected to lift the global gag rule barring international family planning groups that receive U.S. aid from counseling women about the availability of abortion, even in countries where the procedure is legal. Obama has said that he intends to quickly reverse Bush's decision to deny California the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles. It is also expected that the new administration will sign an executive order requiring that greenhouse gas emissions be considered whenever the federal government examines the environmental impact of its actions under the eisting National Environmental Policy Act.

Despite enormous pent-up Democratic frustration, however, Obama and his aides have said in interviews that they realize that they must strike a balance between undoing Bush actions and setting their own course. I guess it took eight years to get into this mess, and it may take a while to dig us all out.