Today, the ban on most coastal drilling has officially expired. Conservatives planned to claim this day as "Energy Freedom Day." But the celebration seems awfully quiet.

Apparently, conservative leaders can't come up with any fresh ideas to address the financial crisis on their own.

While the Sunday shows were, true to form, heavier on the politics of the bailout than substance, it was actually one of the better days for the Watchdog.

On ABC's This Week, Sen. John McCain was asked about the need for additional economic stimulus -- albeit not as part of the bailout package.

Every Friday in our Weekend Watchdog feature, we post suggested questions for scheduled Sunday guests. You can add your own questions in the comment thread. We'll also include contact information for the shows, so we can let them know what their viewers want asked. We'll post a wrap-up here on the blog on Monday.

Today, the ban on most coastal drilling has officially expired. Conservatives planned to claim this day as "Energy Freedom Day." But the celebration seems awfully quiet.

Apparently, conservative leaders can't come up with any fresh ideas to address the financial crisis on their own.

While the Sunday shows were, true to form, heavier on the politics of the bailout than substance, it was actually one of the better days for the Watchdog.

On ABC's This Week, Sen. John McCain was asked about the need for additional economic stimulus -- albeit not as part of the bailout package.

Every Friday in our Weekend Watchdog feature, we post suggested questions for scheduled Sunday guests. You can add your own questions in the comment thread. We'll also include contact information for the shows, so we can let them know what their viewers want asked. We'll post a wrap-up here on the blog on Monday.

House conservatives haven proven themselves completely lacking seriousness in their approach to the financial crisis.

Rick flagged one of the conservative attempts to shift blame for the financial crisis away from their market deregulation and pin it on "government," namely the Community Reinvestment Act.

Congressional leaders have backed down to conservatives and will let the current federal ban on most coastal drilling to completely expire.

What does this mean for our energy policy? What does this say about the congressional leadership and the progressive movement?

As I write this, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is testifying before the Senate Banking Committee. In his opening statement, he appeared to depart from prepared remarks to respond to statements from Senators calling for independent monitoring of Paulson's actions in any bailout proposal.