What do The Deep Water Horizon and the Keystone XL Pipeline project have in common?
On March 31st 2010 President Obama made an announcment on “Energy Security” in Maryland.  President Obama specifically proposed to open vast expanses of water along the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling, much of it for the first time.
The proposal  was an energy compromise that pleased many oil companies and domestic drilling advocates but angered many environmental organizations.   The announcment caught many people off guard.   Than less than three weeks later, on April 20th,  The Deep Water Horizon drilling platform mysteriously exploded in the Gulf Of Mexico, and every element within the Energy Security proposal was immediately put on hold, never again to resurface.   A drilling moritorium ensued and still exists to this day.
Then last week President Obama announced he would not support any further progress on building the previously approved Keystone XL oil pipeline from Alberta Canada through the United States due to “environmental concerns” within Nebraska.   He said a decision would be postponed until after the 2012 elections.   Immediately energy advocates, and even some within the media, began to point out how ridiculously political the decision was along with being very short sighted, and Obama began to get a black eye for his apparent cowering to the radical environmental lobby, a neccessary re-election constituency.
The Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was understandably shocked at the reversal by the Obama administration, even going so far as to inform the United States and Obama that an alternative partner would be persued, namely CHINA.   Obviously, Canada contracting the resource to China would be a massive optical FAIL on the Obama administration and a “key point” of disparagement for the upcoming election to be pointed out by his opponents.  Especially considering the impact of an immediate 20,00 jobs lost.
Fortunately for the domestic optics of Obama, and most coincidently today, a natural gas pipeline mysteriously exploded in Glouchester Ohio.

Authorities say fire from a natural gas line explosion destroyed three houses and a barn in a rural area of southern Ohio.  The Houston-based Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. says the rupture was in its interstate natural gas transmission line. Pallo says the company isolated the pipeline segment involved and shut the gas off.  He says flames continued into the afternoon.  The state fire marshal’s office is among the agencies investigating to determine the cause.

Curiously the mysterious pipeline exploded in Ohio, site of the recent election defeat of conservative voices seeking to restrict the collective bargaining strength of big labor unions and unsustainable pension/benefit contracts.
Curiously the mysterious pipeline exploded in Ohio, on the same day that Obama announced what many see as an anti-China stance in placing United States military forces in the South China Sea area of Northern Australia.
But most curiously the mysterious pipeline exploded at the same time the backlash against Obama’s punt on the decision was gaining mainstream support.
Curiously……