Finding a Balance

New EPA Administrator Seeks Cleaner Environment With Strong Economy

• April 21, 2004, 11:10 a.m.

When President Bush plucked Mike Leavitt from his post as Utah governor to become the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, it marked a dramatic change from the leadership of Christine Todd Whitman. Eyed suspiciously by environmentalists, Leavitt brought a ready-made philosophy to the post. Dubbed “Enlibra” from the Latin word for “moving toward balance,” Leavitt touts the approach as favoring collaboration among competing interests over confrontation. With a 500-day plan for addressing environmental concerns being put into place, he joined Roll Call’s Morton M. Kondracke to assess the administration’s performance.