Sioux Falls Business Journal

Certainly, one thing’s for sure. President Bush is of no help on this one.

It’s painfully yet crystal clear that Bush is no fan of the much needed Lewis & Clark Regional Water System. Surely, the leader of the free world is aware of our little access-to-water issue here in the upper Plains states.

But if he’s prepared to help us move forward with a solution, he has a funny way of showing it.

The president’s move earlier this month to cut all federal funding from the 2009 budget for the water system – a pipeline that would funnel water from the Missouri River to 15 communities and five water systems in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota – makes an already strenuous journey to secure federal dollars for the project that much more daunting.

I get it that there’s always a political give-and-take game that ensues among congressional officials, meaning that Bush’s latest move isn’t the end of the pipeline’s funding story. Still, zero proposed dollars is a pretty tough starting point from which to launch negotiations.

Yet South Dakota’s congressional delegation will continue with its routine of courting support wherever possible to make sure that Congress, if only in part, honors its commitment to the project.

But truth be told, Lewis & Clark’s greatest chance of ongoing funding lies in the coming presidential election.

With Bush soon off to retirement, it’s possible that the incoming president might have ties to South Dakota, and that in turn could help restore Lewis & Clark’s position as a project worth federal attention.

Two of the three front-runners in their respective political parties have at least some connection to the Rushmore State, and that could bode well for us post-November.

Back when Republicans had a few more contestants vying for the party’s nomination for U.S. president, South Dakota’s Sen. John Thune gave an early endorsement of John McCain in the Arizona senator’s bid for president.

Since then, Thune has campaigned for McCain, and at one point there were rumors that Thune could be considered for McCain’s vice presidential running mate.

Meanwhile, in the Democratic camp, presidential candidate and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has considerable ties with prominent South Dakotan politicos – notably Steve Hildebrand and former Sen. Tom Daschle.

Hildebrand, who has managed campaigns for Daschle and South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson, now is working for Obama’s presidential campaign. And Daschle is a key adviser to Obama.

If either McCain or Obama succeeds in becoming the 44th president of the United States of America, that could be good news for the Lewis & Clark system.

Though I’m not quite sure what a Hillary Clinton presidency would mean for the pipeline, I’m willing to bet that the U.S. senator from New York and presidential candidate couldn’t perform any worse than Bush as far as the pipeline’s future is concerned.

So it’s up to the senators now to do what’s needed. That’s to work on behalf of those who elected them – and those who at least helped.

After November, at least one of those senators needs to come through for us.