The environment is Republican Andy Harris' biggest hurdle on his path to Congress from the 1st District, though the issue has been largely absent from voters' minds in times of heightened focus on the economy and foreign affairs.

Yet this vulnerability made it all the more surprising when his campaign rejected the NIMBY argument and embraced the policy of off-shore drilling last month.

Now, a story is kicking around that GOP presidential candidate John McCain cancelled a photo-op on an oil rig not because of the stated reason of weather, but because of a spill.

If the story gets legs, it could rocket the issue in the 1st's shore-based economy.