A reader e-mails a very good point about performance evaluation polls:
Were I to be polled on Mr. Bush’s record on the environment, I also would rate his performance as fair to poor. My reason for that is not because he has assaulted the environment, but because he appointed Ms. Whitman, and because there have been so many new regulations made. The polls rarely reveal what people are really believing, because the choices are so limited in the poll.
For every Sierra Clubber who complains that Bush has been “anti-environment” there may well be a property owner or small businessman who thinks Bush has been too pro-regulation. Both would give Bush a fair or poor rating on environmental policy.