Now Dems Considering 'Compromise' On Offshore Drilling

In the wake of the FISA 'compromise,' the Politico reports that Democrats may be ready to cave to Republicans on another issue:

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said Wednesday that Democratic and Republican leaders are negotiating a compromise on energy legislation.

In the stages of grief, denial gives way to anger and then to bargaining.

It may be an apt metaphor this week, as Democrats' long-held opposition to expanded offshore oil drilling succumbs to the political realities of $4-per-gallon gasoline.

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said Wednesday that Democratic and Republican leaders are negotiating a compromise on energy legislation. Kyl declined to say who's doing the negotiating or what results, if any, their discussions have yielded.

But Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), a longtime proponent of increased offshore drilling, said he was seeing "a big shift, a big shift in my direction," and it was hard to find Democrats who disagreed.

"I'm not knee-jerk opposed to anything," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). "We're willing to work. We haven't shut our minds to anything."

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) said he sensed there were enough votes from his Democratic colleagues to expand offshore drilling into new areas -- and that the eastern Gulf of Mexico "should be one of the first places we should look."