The problem with national politics is that nothing is over until … well, actually, nothing is ever over.

This is the stinking quagmire keeping our country from solving any of its most pressing problems.

We live in a country that can’t make a decision and then simply get the hell out of its own way.

Consider air pollution standards.

More than 20 years ago, Congress told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce the public’s exposure to toxic air pollutants from more than 600 coal and oil power plants.

This is the lethal air pollution generated in the South and Midwest that eventually settles in Northeastern states, including Maine.

Now, just as the EPA is about to announce new regulations for curbing this pollution, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, has introduced a resolution calling upon Congress to reset the clock and re-debate this decision.

This is a back-door attempt to derail scientific and regulatory standards that have been a decade in the making.

Last week, 17 medical organizations ranging from the American Academy of Pediatrics to the Home Oxygen Patients Association, expressed strong opposition to Inhofe’s resolution.

The EPA estimates that this pollution results in 11,000 premature deaths, 130,000 asthma attacks, 4,700 heart attacks and 5,700 hospital visits a year in the United States.

Maine has one of the highest asthma rates in the country.

Even if you and your children are perfectly healthy, you are still inhaling the poisonous byproduct of cheap electricity rates for Midwestern and Southern states.

Included in the emissions are a witches’ brew of toxic chemicals: mercury, hydrochloric acid, arsenic, beryllium, chromium, dioxins and formaldehyde, according to EPA research.

That’s in addition to heavy metals such as lead, manganese, nickel and volatile organic compounds such as benzene and toluene.

These chemicals are linked to a range of breathing problems, cancers and immunological, reproductive and developmental problems, according to the EPA and medical organizations.

But here’s the real kicker: The EPA projects the U.S. will save between $3 and $9 in health benefits for every $1 these power companies and their customers spend complying with the new standards, and that is a conservative estimate.

That’s an estimated net savings of between $37 billion and $90 billion annually.

It is very difficult to compare money spent to death and suffering endured. But, even a cold cost-benefit analysis shows this is a no-brainer. Even the hardest-headed business person can see that.

The attempt to derail the standards is completely regional and political. Politicians in those states take massive contributions from coal and oil companies, and their consumers pay lower electric rates.

We understand why they are unable to consider the well-being of hundreds of thousands of people with asthma and heart conditions in other states.

And that’s why we, as citizens, must demand that our two U.S. senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, oppose Inhofe’s resolution.

Do it for Mainers with asthma. For our developing children. For our friends, co-workers and neighbors with pulmonary health problems.

Both senators must commit to doing the right thing for Maine by voting to put these EPA standards into effect as soon as possible.

We are sick and tired of being the nation’s tailpipe.

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The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and the editorial board.