Two Congresses ago, 38 senators voted for climate legislation. Last Congress, 54 did. There are 59 Senate Democrats. With several Republicans looking at the American Power Act with fresh eyes, 60 votes are achievable. This year is also different. Industries that successfully opposed previous legislation stand with environmentalists behind this one. In part, that is because if Congress doesn’t legislate, the Environmental Protection Agency will regulate carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act. The House has already passed a bill. President Obama has endorsed our bill and doubled down on legislative victory. And the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has underscored the stakes. Al Gore and I held the first climate-change hearings 22 wasted years ago. Time and again, we’ve said, “Wait till next year, don’t give up.” But pastor Joel Hunter is right: It’s not enough to say “I really wanted to protect the Earth and the poor, but I wasn’t sure the votes were there.” We’re not waiting any longer; we can do it now. — Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Can the BP oil spill pass an energy bill? Probably not. As the Democrats’ cap-and-trade proposal gradually morphed into a nukes-and-drilling package this year, the prospects for bipartisan agreement grew. But the thousands of barrels of oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico have stiffened the spines of both sides in the offshore-drilling debate, reducing the likelihood of compromise on the broader energy issue. Public concern about the spill has yet to grow into the outrage that the White House successfully directed against insurance companies and Wall Street. That would require a sustained effort not only to demonize the oil industry but also to explain the direct role that this bill would have in preventing these types of accidents. A steady stream of photos of oil-covered tourists and shuttered beachfront hotels could grab voters’ attention in a way that the first weeks of news coverage have not. But it might take that level of public and media frenzy to penetrate a capital culture that seems much more exercised about other topics. — Dan Schnur, director of the University of Southern California’s Unruh Institute of Politics
President Obama might want to keep his obvious love of campaigning to himself as the midterm elections draw closer. Washington Post columnist David Broder 