Our Bay:  This Week's Take: A ray of hope for the Chesapeake Bay

When Barack Obama and John McCain addressed their respective supporters on Feb. 11, 2008, the day before the presidential primaries in Maryland and Virginia, both candidates carried on a longstanding tradition - they both pledged their unwavering support to restore the Chesapeake Bay.

Speaking to a group of more than 17,000 supporters at the Comcast Center at the University of Maryland, then-Sen. Obama declared that "we cannot wait to clean up Chesapeake Bay."

Sen. McCain, speaking to a smaller crowd in Annapolis, promised: "I will do everything in my power to make sure we repair and improve one of the great...