Back in 1992, Democratic strategist James Carville gained a lot of fame when he boiled down the race between Bill Clinton and then President George H.W. Bush to just one sentence, "It's the economy, stupid."
The recent jump in oil prices may modify that for 2008 into, as this race focuses more and more on energy needs and the high price at the pump that consumers have to pay.
For now, Democrats have been able to Point the Finger Of Blame for higher prices at Big Oil, and so far, the voters are siding with that argument seemingly.
But at the same time, recent polls have shown a clear majority in favor of the idea of more drilling here at home, supporting the idea of more producing more oil and natural gas in the United States.
"I think it's changed," said Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) when asked about the political dynamics of more offshore drilling.
"I think $4 a gallon has done that," Martinez told a small knot of reporters just off the Senate floor on Tuesday.
Martinez was repeatedly asked about John McCain's plan to allow more offshore drilling, something that's been repeatedly rejected by many elected officials in Florida.
The Florida Republican said before anyone should talk about opening new drilling leases near the Sunshine State, there should be exploration in the over 8.3 million acres of the Gulf Of Mexico that were opened by the Congress two years ago.
"I'd say let's drill there first, let's use that product before we even think about drilling in new areas near Florida," said Martinez.
Democrats meanwhile denounced McCain's offshore drilling idea, arguing that more drilling area near Florida is not the answer to America's energy problems.
"The oil and gas companies right now have more than 39 million acres under lease in the Gulf of Mexico, but they're drilling on less than eight million acres of that," said the other Florida Senator, Democrat Bill Nelson.
Nelson also worked up a zippy quote to zap McCain with.
"I thought John McCain was serious when he said he wanted to make America less dependent on oil. I didn't think he was a flip-flopper," said Nelson.
That's because McCain used to oppose the idea of more drilling off the coasts.
But as Sen. Martinez and others are saying these days, "Times have changed."
Whether they'll change in the Congress soon, that's not so clear.
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