Panama City Beach, Fla. —- Forget hurricanes. Never mind business cycles. In two decades of running scuba diving boats for tourists, Jerry McLendon has never seen a bigger challenge to his business than the current high price of gasoline.

McLendon had no doubts about President Bush's call last week to open up the nation's offshore waters for more oil drilling.

"We should've done it 15 years ago," he said. "If it was up to me, I'd be drilling within sight of shore. They need to use stringent restrictions, but we're crazy not to be using our own resources."

But the prospect of oil rigs sprouting in the Gulf of Mexico triggers equally strong opinions from other residents of this tourist mecca —- and they don't agree with McLendon.

"That's crazy," said Erich Torngren, 20, manager of Cardenas Seafood Market. "People only come here for one reason, and that's the beach.

"Mess up that white sand and we're in a lot of trouble."

For Robert McManus, a Panama City Beach dive master who once worked on boats that tended oil rigs, any talk of reversing drilling bans risks fouling what he believes are irreplaceable marine resources.

"We have an ecosystem so sensitive that there are articles in the diving magazines about divers needing to be careful of which brand of suntan lotion they use," he said. "I've worked around those rigs, and the pollution is unbelievable.

"It's killing me to buy gas now, but it's not worth ruining the environment over."

Nestled between the Gulf and St. Andrew's Bay in the heart of Florida's Panhandle, Panama City Beach has long been the Southeast's summer playground. Winters can be ghostly, but starting with spring break in March, the beachfront hotels, condominiums, bars and restaurants hum with hordes of sunburned visitors.

With so much riding on beach-going tourists —- a description that fits almost all the Sunshine State —- the issue has always been a slam-dunk for politicians.

Scenes of oil-slicked beaches from past spills in California and other states made the issue easy, and Florida's congressional delegation has consistently supported the 27-year-old federal ban on U.S. offshore drilling.

But the pain of $4-a-gallon gasoline appears to be splintering the state's long-standing unity on the issue.

Last week, Gov. Charlie Crist —- a Republican who has supported environmental initiatives and even installed solar panels on the governor's mansion —- shifted his position, backing GOP presidential hopeful John McCain's proposal that the issue be left to the states.

Although Crist insisted he has always supported the idea of letting the states decide, the move set off howls from Florida Democrats, who thundered that the governor was risking the state's pristine beaches and waters in a drive to secure a spot as McCain's running mate in November.

But Crist, who still enjoys enviable approval ratings, may prove to have an accurate reading of public opinion on the issue.

A St. Petersburg Times poll on the topic in 2006 found Florida voters about evenly split on the topic of lifting the federal moratorium on drilling.

Now, with no end in sight to the steady climb of prices at the pump, opinions may be swinging in favor of drilling.

Environmentalists are quick to point out that such drilling won't offer immediate relief for high gas prices, because it would take years for new offshore rigs to begin production. They also insist that even large oil strikes in the Gulf wouldn't solve the nation's long-term problems, because demand has kept rising steadily.

"It's only short-term," said Diane Brown, a Democrat running for the Bay County Commission and opponent of offshore drilling. "Why take a chance of damaging our beaches?

"Our economy is based on tourism."

Other local leaders point to another issue that has long been a concern here: that the rigs might interfere with training at several large area military bases, which operate an offshore test range where pilots practice their gunnery skills.

"The military is a huge part of our economy," said Carol Roberts, head of the Bay County Chamber of Commerce, referring to Tyndall Air Force Base in her county and Eglin Air Force Base in nearby Walton and Okaloosa counties. "We took a position in 2006 opposing offshore drilling.

"The cost of fuel is certainly a commerce issue, but we have a lot to take into account here with our beaches and the military."

Whatever happens on the federal level, Floridians opposed to drilling can still rely on a state law that restricts any drilling within 125 miles of its beaches. That ban is on the books until 2022.

THE PROPOSAL

With gas prices above $4 a gallon, President Bush would lift a federal ban and allow states to decide for themselves to allow offshore drilling. Opponents contend that developing new oil sources would take too long to have much effect on current fuel prices.