Now the region is again under siege as a gigantic oil slick approaches the Louisiana coastline, threatening marine life and the state's fishing communities, and in Washington, the recriminations have already begun. Blanco spoke this week with NationalJournal.com about the dangers posed by the spill, the effect this string of disasters has had on the people of Louisiana, and the speed and effectiveness of the government's response now as compared to four years ago. Edited excerpts follow.

On Monday, after he and other governors met with President Obama, Daniels visited National Journal, where he talked with reporters about rumors of presidential aspirations, what to avoid in health care reform, and how the Republican Party can rebuild and redefine itself through policy contributions.

Edited excerpts follow.

Despite being the majority in Congress, Democrats have had a hard time keeping people happy. Deval told National Journal on Sunday at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association that Congress needs to share the urgency governors see on the ground in people's lives.

Deval also discussed how Congress can help Massachusetts with Medicaid funding and shared his thoughts on Republican Sen. Scott Brown's win.

Edited excerpts follow.

Though consensus on health care is elusive, Granholm says job creation could be in reach. "[A] little bit of economic nationalism" is the right recipe for bolstering the nation's manufacturing sector, she told National Journal in an interview at the National Governors Association meeting this weekend.

Edited excerpts follow.

In President Obama's first year, Americans wanted action on jobs, not health care reform, Barbour told National Journal on Sunday at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association. "The fear of the effects of this unbelievable spending spurt, and the gigantic deficits that accompany it -- the fear of what that's going to do for them, their children and their grandchildren is real," he said.

Barbour also discussed why Republicans have outperformed Democrats in their messaging and whether or not he'll run in the 2012 presidential race.

Edited excerpts follow.

Edited excerpts follow.

Edited excerpts follow.

The Democrat took exception to Republicans praising the local effects of stimulus funding after opposing the spending a year ago. The best way to relieve partisan gridlock on the Hill, she said, is to "put things up to a vote."

"The American people want action. What they've seen is inaction," she said. "They need to have an understanding now of why there's inaction."

Edited excerpts of the interview follow.

Edited excerpts from the interview follow.

It's hard to imagine the Virgin Islands -- of aquamarine waters and calypso drums -- at war, but the U.S. territory has been locked in a rum-fueled brouhaha with neighboring Puerto Rico for months.

The Virgin Islands are punch-drunk after inking a 30-year contract last year with British-based spirits giant Diageo to open a new factory in the territory. Diageo will crank out Captain Morgan rum, generating hundreds of millions of dollars a year in excise taxes and creating new jobs, while the Virgin Islands has agreed to build the company a state-of-the-art processing plant and give them a sweetheart tax deal for the next three decades. (Disclosure: Until recently, Diageo sponsored a semi-regular poll with The Hotline, which is also published by Atlantic Media Co.)

Diageo's Caribbean operations are currently based in Puerto Rico, and San Juan is steamed to see the company (and its tax revenue) go. So upset, in fact, that its non-voting representative in Congress, Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi (D), has tried to scuttle the deal by introducing legislation that would cap the amount of tax subsidies the Virgin Islands can offer Diageo.

Both sides have spent more than $800,000 on lobbying this year alone. The Congressional Black Caucus even weighed in Tuesday, writing a letter to Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-NY, support the Virgin Islands' position.

But Virgin Islands Gov. John deJongh (D) is eager to downplay the dispute. He spoke with NationalJournal.com's David Gauvey Herbert about the origins of the deal, how the Virgin Islands is coping with the economic downturn and why he still loves Puerto Rico.

National Journal caught up with Pawlenty right before the conference began.