Republicans' ambivalence about Whitman is probably best shown by the attitude of fellow New Jerseyan Steve Forbes. But Forbes turned on her for her pro-abortion rights, liberal stand on social issues when he was running for president in the 2000 Republican primaries. Whitman vetoed a bill outlawing partial-birth abortions, is against school prayer and supports gay rights. Those stances have made her anathema to her own party's right wing. A Diverse State Whitman's environmental policy in New Jersey has reflected her typical balance of fiscal conservatism, social moderation and attention to the unusual needs of her state.
New Jersey is the nation's most densely-populated state.
Eight million people live on only 5 million acres, many commuting to jobs in neighboring New York and Philadelphia. The vistas, and New Jersey's large number of Superfund environmental pollution sites, have sometimes made the state the butt of jokes about the environment and pollution. But defenders such as former Republican Gov. Thomas Kean say the state's environmental problems have presented policy challenges that might make a New Jersey governor a good candidate to run the Environmental Protection Agency. If you want to swim, we're the only beaches in the country that test its water once a week to make sure it's clean. We've done more to clean up toxic waste than any other state in the country.