McCain Ventures Into Everglades Ill-Prepared For Political Briars

Republican presidential candidate John McCain visited the Everglades last week to highlight his commitment to Florida's natural treasures and promptly stepped into political muck.

But the senator can only blame himself for the damage done on his photo-op tour of the Everglades.

Democrats delighted in pointing out that the last time McCain had a chance to demonstrate his concern for the River of Grass, he voted against a bill that, among other things, authorized federal support for Everglades restoration work.

He not only opposed the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 act, he also tried, unsuccessfully, to uphold President Bush's veto of it.

Struggling to extricate himself from the marsh, McCain only managed to sink deeper.

He stressed that he did not oppose aid for the Everglades, but for other wasteful projects authorized in the act.

He did not seem to understand that the authorization act did not approve actual spending. It simply presented the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with a priority to-do list. Congress still must review and approve funding for each individual project. So Congress will have the opportunity to excise pork at that time. The act covers some $23 billion worth of work, including $2 billion for the Everglades.

The dollars are enormous, no question, but before last year, Congress had not passed a comprehensive water bill in seven years, so there was a huge backlog of needs throughout the nation.

While there is little doubt the measure contains pork, most of the authorized projects appeared to be aimed at preventing floods, cleaning up polluted water, bolstering drinking water supplies and providing hurricane relief. It authorized, for instance, $2 billion for restoring Louisiana's eroded coastline.

In Hillsborough, the act approved a water treatment system that would boost fresh water supplies and replenish wetlands.

Authorization was essential to continue repair of the Everglades. While Florida has spent more than $2 billion, Washington has failed to fulfill its pledge to split the costs of restoring a natural water flow. As a result, the restoration work is years behind schedule.

The state could not pursue a long-term repair strategy without the assurance of federal help. Washington's contribution is justified, since the Army Corps did much of the work that diverted water from the Glades.

Granted, not too fine a point should be put on McCain's vote against the authorization act. His aversion to pork is well documented. And once a project is authorized, it takes more effort to sink it. Other members of Congress who support Everglades restoration, including Polk's Adam Putnam, opposed the act because they feared it was infested with waste, though opponents have turned up little to be outraged about since the November vote.

Still, before McCain voted on the measure - much less hopped on that airboat with Florida Gov. Charlie Crist - he should have done a better job of researching his record on the Everglades.

His position might have remained the same, but he would have been able to do a better job of explaining it.