Liberal Dem: White House didn’t push climate bill enough

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) doesn’t believe the White House flexed enough muscle to move climate change legislation, which is dead in the Senate this year.

Asked in the Capitol if the White House put enough political capital behind the bill, the liberal Democrat — and advocate of caps on greenhouse gases — replied: “Not in my opinion.”

The Obama administration won enactment of sweeping healthcare and financial reform bills this year, but pushing all-out on a climate bill — which faced opposition from many Republicans and a number of centrist Democrats — was not the top priority for the White House or Senate Democratic leaders.