Gov. Jeb Bush winked, the U.S. Senate blinked and now drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico is a reality. The size of the exploration area called 181 was reduced from 5.9-million acres to 1.5-million acres and will come no closer to the Florida coast than 100 miles. But is that a compromise or a sellout? It depends on your point-of-view.

"This is actually a better compromise than we were hoping for," said U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Largo, who in the past had supported a yearly moratorium on drilling off the Florida coast. Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, author of the defeated Senate amendment that would have blocked the sale of drilling leases in 181, wasn't so forgiving. "They are going to be drilling in 1.5-million acres, which poses a substantial threat to the beaches of Florida," Nelson said.

Both men could be right.

For a while, it looked as though anti-drilling forces would carry the day. Gov. Bush openly opposed his brother's plan to drill in the eastern gulf. But while on vacation at the family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, the governor dropped his objections after Interior Secretary Gale Norton reduced the size of 181. In June, the U.S. House had put a moratorium on drilling in 181, and Nelson was trying to do the same in the Senate. But the Republican gambit apparently changed enough swing votes to doom the effort on Thursday.

It's too early to tell what impact the gulf drilling compromise will have on Jeb Bush's re-election bid next year. It certainly makes the governor look like the fall guy in his brother's energy initiative.

Even with a shrunken 181, there is still a threat to the Florida coast. An Interior Department information brochure admits as much. "The draft EIS (environmental impact statement) predicts that there will be small pollution events that could temporarily affect the enjoyment or use of some beach segments in Alabama or Florida, but have little effect on the number of beach users or tourism," the department says, putting its best spin on an oil spill.

Whatever the extent of the threat, it will be long-lasting. Exploration can go on for 10 years, production wells can operate for up to 30 years and pipelines will be built to pump crude oil from the platforms to the shore.

Yes, the drilling could have encompassed a larger area and lurked closer to the Florida coast. Still, drilling brings risk. Nelson and others also worry, rightly so, that oil companies will use this victory to push further into the eastern gulf. So state officials will have to remain vigilant.

Florida is no longer an innocent in the battle to balance increased oil exploration with environmental protection.

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