Running Out Of Steam?

The next step for Pres. Obama's energy bill is unclear. If he can't get it through the Senate - or if he does it by dropping a key priority of House Rust Belters - some Dems will feel like they've been left out to dry. Will this sour them from helping the WH on its #1 priority (as Axe told Gregory on "Meet") of health care reform?

-- Many are making the comparison between the 6/27 energy vote and the '93 Btu issue. Back then, lots of marginal Dems voted for a version of Clinton's budget bill that contained a tax on energy consumption, which the Senate ultimately dropped. And, like '93, the margin of victory came in part from vulnerable freshman like MI's Peters and Schauer and MD's Kratovil.

-- Even so, the enviro today (no pun intended) is different than '93. Back in 5/93, Clinton's job approval was just 36%. Plus, the GOP had effectively cast the budget as a tax-spend bill. Today, it's doubtful most Americans know much about the energy bill.

-- Still, these Dems are just as vulnerable to being cast as tax-spenders. Between the stimulus package, bank bailouts and now this, GOPers have a pretty easy contrast to make in '10 on spending and deficits. Will it work? That much depends on just how convinced Americans are that this legislation was worth the cost.