Obama BP Speech

President Obama will do something he hasn't done in his almost 17 months in office tonight, as he will address the nation from the Oval Office on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, after he returns from a two day visit to the Gulf.

What exactly will he say tonight?  One expects that he will put some heat on British Petroleum to set up a pretty big compensation fund to deal with economic damages.  

But what else?

Democrats are ready for him to use this oil accident to renew a call for action in the Congress on broad energy and climate change legislation?

Sure - he can do that - as he did in an email to supporters on Monday.  

"In other words, our continued dependence on fossil fuels will jeopardize our national security. It will smother our planet. And it will continue to put our economy and our environment at risk," said the President.

But right now, the idea of the House and Senate approving a new climate change bill seems to be unlikely at best.

"The House of Representatives has already passed a comprehensive energy and climate bill, and there is currently a plan in the Senate -- a plan that was developed with ideas from Democrats and Republicans -- that would achieve the same goal. But this is an issue that Washington has long ignored in favor of protecting the status quo," the President added.

Republicans ripped the idea of using the Gulf oil spill to press for climate change legislation, as the battle lines hardened - even before the President gave his BP remarks.

We'll see what he says tonight - and more importantly - whether it changes the political dynamic on energy and climate change at all.

President Obama will do something he hasn't done in his almost 17 months in office tonight, as he will address the nation from the Oval Office on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, after he returns from a two day visit to the Gulf. What exactly will he say tonight?  ...