Certainly it is a problem for Bush that this story is breaking now. |
I fear that as usual Congress is lagging and they will address a problem long after it is pressing. |
Last year was the last best chance for quite a while. If the Republicans lose any Senate seats this fall, as they well might, they will need to wait until they have a Senate majority willing to move this again. |
The consensus view [is] that the front runner, who seems to be Dean at this moment, combined with a Republican congress, would probably mean more control over spending. |
The odds of letting states opt out of coastal moratorium in return for a share of offshore royalties are much higher. There is sufficient momentum behind this idea that it is going to take more than objections from Florida to stop it. |
The real problem from a consumer perspective is a shortage of refined product, and it is unclear to me how they are going to get crude from storage facilities on the Gulf Coast to refineries on the Gulf Coast, |
These are issues that transcend previous party distinctions, where you have a very strong coalition between republicans who are willing to deregulate and do whatever it takes to get government out of business's way, and new democrats, who are very tech-friendly, |