The long-awaited rule to protect the North Atlantic right whale is coming soon, according to President Bush himself. Speaking at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History on Friday, Bush briefly discussed the rule: "There are fewer than 400 North Atlantic Right Whales left in the world… And there are going to be new regulations that will be coming to be shortly that require ships to slow down as they approach seaports where these whales are likely to be." Bush's pronouncement comes after the rule was stuck inside his White House for 573 days. In that time, the White House Council of Economic Advisors and the Vice President's office attacked the science behind the rule in attempt to derail it. Although the rule has not yet been unveiled, early signs indicate it may be somewhat weaker than what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration originally proposed. Had Bush been in the mood to be frank, his comment would have sounded more like this: Scientists say if even one more right whale female dies, the entire species could be set on a path toward extinction. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has spent years developing a new policy to reduce the risk that ships will crash into and kill right whales. The White House, under my leadership, fought hard to undermine that policy. I think the free market can save the whales. Whales don't deserve a bailout — they're not Wall Street execs. (Chuckle.) So we delayed, we interfered, we threw the kitchen sink at this rule to see if we couldn't turn it back. After a year-and-a-half, we've decided to let it through. See, I wanted to make sure this rule got finished under my watch, with a concession or two to industry, before some new guy comes in.