A few weeks ago, the idea of expanded domestic offshore oil and gas exploration seemed like a slam dunk in the Congress.  Yes, there were opponents, but they were a minority.  But a Gulf of Mexico oil spill has changed that.

At a hearing yesterday in the House Energy & Commerce Committee about dependence on foreign oil, there was a lot of talk about reducing American dependence on oil imports.

But where you might have expected a lamwakers to drop a lot of references to something like "offshore oil production", it was almost like the option didn't exist.

Instead, the focus for some in the halls of the Congress was trying to prevent a coastal disaster.

"The potential disaster looming in the Gulf of Mexico could devastate....economically crucial species such as snapper, grouper, red fish, mackerel, oysters, shrimp, crab, and wildlife populations and their habitats, as well as the tourism and recreational businesses that rely on the Gulf," said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL).

While that type of warning from someone supportive of offshore drilling was a head-turner, it came at the same time that coastal state opponents of drilling were starting to make noise publicly as well.

On the Senate floor, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) hauled out photos of the Gulf oil spill, warning that a similar accident along the Atlantic Seaboard could be just as catastrophic.

"This is all happening as a result of a spill and a fire from the most technologically advanced rig in the world," Cardin said, challenging his party's President on the idea of new offshore drilling.

"I urge my colleagues to take a look at what happened off the Gulf of Mexico." Cardin added.

So far, Cardin is an exception, as most of Congress has quietly ignored the oil spill.

I would bet that if this had occurred under a Republican President, most Congressional Democrats would have been hitting the roof.

But in 2010, it is their party's President who is pushing the idea of additional offshore oil and gas exploration, and that has definitely tamped down the Democratic response.

Stay tuned on this one.  If the spill stays offshore, the well gets plugged, and everything is fine, then it all goes away.

If it does not, then new action in Congress on offshore drilling may be in big time limbo.