McCain Visits Oil Rig

If I may take a break from talking about "cross in the dirt" stories, McCain visited an oil rig today:

McCain rode a helicopter about 150 miles (241 kilometres) off the state of Louisiana's coast to visit the Genesis oil rig.

Jointly owned by Chevron and Exxon Mobil, the rig represents an environmental risk great enough that the US coast guard has set up a "safety zone" around its perimeter to prevent accidents.

"It is time for America to get serious about energy independence, and that means we need to start drilling offshore at advanced oil rigs like this," the Republican nominee said in his prepared remarks.

McCain and the rest of the GOP are still hammering away on this issue, and rightly so, because the left is giving every indication that they have no stomach for this fight. As was predicted by myself and many others, an election year, pocketbook issues come together to concentrate the mind of many a politician.

Even the hardcore are signalling that this is not the hill they are willing to die on:

That's the game, right there. The floodgates will open because they have to open. There's no way on God's green earth to find veto-proof majorities to re-up that ban, and no bill George W. Bush won't veto to stop it. Not a defense bill. Not a continuing resolution to keep the government running. Not a National Motherhood and Apple Pie Day bill. Nothing.

There will be a significant change in the Federal drilling policy within 30 days. Either the GOP will hold firm and get everything they want by default, or they will fold early and get some of what they want with a few bonuses like nuclear plants and subsidies and such. The Democrats are crossing their fingers and hoping for the latter.