"TAMPA, Fla. -- 'Drill, baby, drill!' is over the hill. Four years ago, the slogan was chanted during the Republican convention and strengthened into a resounding chorus by the November election. Since then, the economy tanked, Sarah Palin lost her luster and the worst spill in the nation's history fouled the Gulf of Mexico."

This week, the GOP hosts its convention in Florida, a state that has long battled to keep drilling away from its tourist-beloved shores. And although the issue is no longer the state's untouchable third rail, don't expect Republicans meeting here to spotlight offshore drilling the way they did in 2008."

Noelle Straub reports for Greenwire August 27, 2012. [2]