The Daily Mislead...

Bush Flip Flops In Pander to Midwest Voters

President Bush visited Michigan this week and said, "We've got to use our resources wisely, like water. It starts with keeping the Great Lakes water in the Great Lakes Basin." He then attacked his political opponents for supposedly equivocating on the issue, and said, "My position is clear: We're never going to allow diversion of Great Lakes water."1 This declaration, however, was a direct flip-flop from statements the President made just three years ago. According to The Associated Press in July of 2001, "Bush said he wants to talk to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien about piping [Great Lakes] water to parched states in the west and southwest."2 Though experts said, "diverting any water from the Great Lakes region sets a bad precedent," the President insisted, "A lot of people don't need [the water], but when you head South and West, we do need it."

3 Sources:
"President's Remarks at Traverse City, Michigan Rally," The White House, 08/16/04.
"Bush's talk of North American water pact upsets environmentalists, politicians," The Associated Press, July 19, 2001.
"Remarks by the President in Roundtable Interview with Foreign Press," The White House, 07/17/01.