It was genuinely heartbreaking for many Democrats and environmentalists alike when, in late March, President Obama announced that he intended to expand offshore oil drilling. This was certainly the kind of announcement that many might have otherwise expected to see coming from the previous Bush administration, but not from Obama. Indeed, with an eye to winning votes for forthcoming legislative initiatives this was more of a peace offering to try and score favor with Republicans -something that was ultimately futile and, arguably -given the absence of any positive Republican bipartisan spirit during his Presidency up to that point- wholly misguided.

I wouldn't be so crude as to suggest that what came next on the BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig was a matter of karma, but it is nonetheless striking that on the heels of Obama's dabble in currying votes from Republicans by expanding offshore oil drilling he may have now found himself amid what many are calling 'his own Katrina', in reference to the slow-paced response and mismanagement by the Bush administration of the Hurrican Katrina tragedy.

Part of the criticism currently being directed against Obama is unfair- while some of the public may have preferred to see an angry, screaming response from their leader, they should have recognized by now that our President is a far more thoughtful, reasoned man of measured pace and tone. He is at times very much the man who had a background in academia and we should be thankful for the welcome change in having a President who chooses his words wisely rather than just spouting out the first thing that comes to his head.

All the same, we are currently faced with what has now been recognized as the largest offshore oil spill in U.S history and it is the task of the Obama administration -along with a pile of cash from a public-image conscious BP- to clean it up. Inevitably the explosion and subsequent oil spill forced Obama to suspend the issuing of all new offshore drilling leases. While nobody could have wished a tragedy like this would force such a positive development, you will be hard pressed to find many Republicans complaining about the suspension- to do so at this time would be political suicide. Indeed, it has been interesting to see how quiet Republicans have been on all matters relating to the environment and America's oil dependence in recent weeks. It may well be that this oil spill will have enough impetus to promote long-term change for the better.

Might this tragedy -which we will be feeling the effects of for decades to come- prove to be the catalyst for America's shift into the development of alternative fuel?

That remains to be seen, however it would be nice to see one positive come out of this entire sordid mess.