The former New Jersey governor and EPA administrator has been nudging the GOP back to its environmental roots.

As head of the EPA, Whitman stood by President George W. Bush's 2000 campaign pledge to control CO₂ emissions, only to have Bush turn around and abandon it. Her strong advocacy of clean-air standards led to strife with Vice President Dick Cheney--and to her resignation.

Upside | Whitman escaped the Bush EPA before things got really ugly.

Downside | Post–September 11, she falsely assured New Yorkers that the air was safe to breathe. She now lobbies for the nuclear industry.