John McCain often claims Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan as his two major political influences. Though these former presidents share core conservative beliefs, a dichotomy exists between the two: environmentalism.     

Whereas Roosevelt sought out wilderness, believing true liberty could only be found in the nation’s virgin land, Reagan stood behind the bulldozer of the Sagebrush rebels in Moab, Utah.

Whereas Roosevelt’s administration created the majority of U.S. National Parks and Forests, the Reagan administration vowed to mine, drill and cut its way to a healthy economy.

Regarding conservation, Roosevelt insisted, "To waste, to destroy, our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them."

When the opportunity to expand Redwood National Park came across Governor Reagan’s desk he said, “A tree is a tree. How many more do you have to look at?”

So the question to ask: Whose ideology will have the greatest influence on McCain’s environmental policy this election season? Time has been telling, and time will continue to tell.

McCain’s environmental stance has taken a few twists over the years. His flip-flopping may point to an inner ideological battle between Roosevelt and Reagan principles.

After a stint as a global warming skeptic, McCain co-sponsored the first Senate bill calling for mandatory greenhouse gas cuts in 2003. This action employed government intervention and consequent negative short-term economic growth, much like Roosevelt’s Midnight Reserves.

In May, McCain openly voiced his disapproval for offshore drilling, however recently he approved the operation, favoring the economy over the environment. Such a move resembles Reagan’s veto to reauthorize the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act in hopes of boosting short term economic woes at the expense of public resources.  

TV ads: Economic Benefits to Defend Environmentalism

The McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee have been hitting Wisconsin TV stations with environmental ads throughout the summer. These ads are quick to demonstrate a positive correlation between environmentalism and our economy, a notion that splits Reagan and Roosevelt philosophies.

The opening sentences of the ad A Better Way insists on this correlation, “Our environment in peril. Oil and food prices out of control.” McCain uses the same tactic in his other environmental ad, Purpose, which makes a more concerted effort to shade environmental motives with economic and national security.

A Foot-soldier’s Ultimate Hero

As a self proclaimed “foot-soldier for the Reagan revolution” that clings to Theodore Roosevelt as his “ultimate hero,” John McCain will be in for a conflicted political season.

Be on the lookout in the upcoming months to see how McCain will sustain the delicate balance between Reagan and Roosevelt. This will not be an easy task considering an economy set on recession in an environmentally damaged world.

The ideal that the environmental movement complements the economy sounds clean cut in television ads, but when big business comes knocking, unwilling to comply with McCain’s cap and trade, or when environmental groups protest offshore drilling, he’ll be forced to chart a path. The question that remains: Whose conservative compass will he use?