But all politics is local and, in the Bush world, familial.
Bushes have a history in the gulf.
Dad made his grubstake there 40 years ago as a pioneer in offshore drilling. As president, he stopped the development of some already-leased tracts in the gulf. Now his eldest son faces a dilemma in the same waters. It turns out that there is more petroleum especially natural gas in the depths of the gulf than anyone realized. Dubya knows all this.