Clinton Administration officials speaking on condition of anonymity say the President is unlikely to intervene if Northwest Airlines pilots go on strike at 11:01 tonight. Underlying the administration's reasoning is a belief that after more than 10 days of mediated talks, there's a good chance the pilots and the company will settle their remaining issues. Under the Railway Labor Act, the president, acting on the recommendation of the National Mediation Board, can avert a strike with a 60-day "cooling off" period if he finds "a substantial economic threat" would deprive a region of a "central transportation service." Associate Professor of Political Science at Gustavus Adolophus College, Chris Gilbert says a Northwest strike would undoubtedly have a negative economic impact on the region, but in the national scheme, it's not considered a big enough problem for the President to intervene right away: