Certainly it is a problem for Bush that this story is breaking now.
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.
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 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.
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.
I fear that as usual Congress is lagging and they will address a problem long after it is pressing.
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