For a couple of hours on Monday afternoon, there was something that hadn't been seen in the halls of Congress on the energy issue in awhile, a ray of hope.  That quickly faded as the sun went down.

Democrats returned for this last week of work before an August break ready with a deal for Republicans, offering the GOP four amendments on an underlying bill on oil futures speculation.

The deal would give the GOP votes on offshore drilling, oil shale development out west, nuclear energy and on a broad Republican energy bill that was introduced last week and has 42 Republican co-sponsors.

Democrats would get four amendments as well.  All of them would be subject to a 60-vote threshhold, meaning if you don't have enough votes to overcome a filibuster, then the amendment would go down to defeat.

At first, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell reacted favorably to the offering from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

"I think we're getting very close to reaching an agreement to go forward," McConnell said on the Senate floor.

"We're finally getting serious about doing something about the rising price of gas at the pump," he added.

But initial optimism gave way to reality in the hours afterwards, as the Senate gridlocked on yet another piece of legislation, and the barbs flew fast and furious on the Senate floor between the two parties.

Republican Senators told McConnell they wanted more than just four amendments on energy, leading many in the hallways to conclude that the SS Senate was headed for the parliamentary rocks again.

"They feel bad about siding with big oil over advancing America's priorities," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The deadlock raises the distinct possibility that the Senate might not get anything done this week, stuck on an energy bill that can't get enough votes for final action or amendments.

Who wins?  That's hard to say.  Both sides have their arguments down pat.  Both sides have a littany of political transgressions that they can list in 3.4 seconds.

Whether the voters are paying attention and will exact ballot box retribution is unclear.

There is still a chance some deal might get worked out.  We'll see later today.