Remember back to September, when Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was a newly minted vice-presidential candidate and she was asked by ABC's Charlie Gibson about drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and her split with her running mate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.?

At the time, she told Gibson: "We'll agree to disagree, but I'm gonna keep pushing that, and I think, eventually, we're all gonna come together on that one."

Apparently Palin wasn't persuasive enough. Today, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee shot down Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski's effort to open up ANWR to directional drilling. The sole Republican to vote against the proposal? McCain.

The amendment, which came up during work on an energy bill, failed 10-13. Murkowski, the top Republican on the energy committee, has argued that directional drilling could be done from outside the refuge to tap reserves with its boundaries.

Senate Republicans know how to slow down Democrats: Make 'em take a tough vote.

For weeks, Democrats have been considering the use of a legislative tactic called
reconciliation to consider carbon emission reduction legislation later this year. The tactic would essentially make it harder to filibuster a bill; sixty votes are needed to limit debate, and Democrats control 58 Senate seats.

Even some Democrats expressed reservations about using reconciliation for that purpose, so Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., put everyone on the record.

As a result, the Senate agreed, 67 to 31, to bar the use of the tactic for the energy legislation. It could still be used for other matters, notably health care.

Republicans rejoiced, especially since 26 Democrats voted for the Johanns plan. Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell called the vote "good news for families, taxpayers and job creators."

More Senate, as well as House votes, on the fiscal 2010 budget are expected Thursday.

President Obama's Interior Secretary said today he's going to extend a public comment period on a proposed 5-year plan for oil and gas development on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, conduct a study and hold four regional conferences.

"To establish an orderly process that allows us to make wise decisions based on sound information, we need to set aside the Bush Administration’s midnight timetable for its OCS drilling plan and create our own timeline,” Ken Salazar said.  

He said the Bush administration -- which rolled back the ban on offshore drilling and called for those areas to be opened -- didn't provide the new administration with enough time for public review or for "wise decisions on behalf of taxpayers."

“The additional time we are providing will give states, stakeholders, and affected communities the opportunity to provide input on the future of our offshore areas,” he said. “The additional time will allow us to restore an orderly process to our offshore energy planning.”

He said there's also not enough information about what resources may lurk offshore.

“In the biggest area that the Bush Administration’s draft OCS plan proposes for oil and gas drilling - the Atlantic seaboard, from Maine to Florida - our data on available resources is very thin, and what little we have is 20 to 30 years old,” he said. “We shouldn’t make decisions to sell off taxpayer resources based on old information.”