There hadn’t been an iota of favorable press on the BP oil spill in more than 50 days.

Until Wednesday afternoon, that is:

• A commitment to create an uncapped $20 billion damage claim fund, paid for by the oil giant;

• An organization completely independent of both BP and the government to handle claims and administer the money;

• No limitation on private lawsuits against BP;

• A $100 million fund to compensate oil workers out of work because of a ban on additional deep-water drilling; and

• A seemingly heart-felt, broken English attempt by BP’s Swiss Board Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg to apologize to the “small people” for the way this disaster has wreaked havoc on their lives and livelihoods.

The Associated Press reported that applause broke out during a community meeting in Orange Beach, Ala., as local residents listened to the outline of the agreement on television.

The AP story called the agreement “the first big success Obama has been able to give Gulf residents and the nation in the eight weeks since the explosion.”

Still, the massive oil spill is an unprecedented catastrophe for everyone: BP, its shareholders, President Barack Obama, fishermen, wildlife and the communities of the Gulf Coast. No amount of money will ever completely erase the damage.

But we have, hopefully, learned a few lessons:

• Years of nonexistent oversight of big industries can lead to horrific consequences, both for the unsupervised industries and for the American people.

• It has shown the limitations of Big Brother’s ability to make all things right, no more painfully than in Obama’s admission to a small group of Gulf Coast residents that “I can’t dive down there and plug the hole. I can’t suck it up with a straw.”

• It has forced some “kill-government-in-the-cradle” conservative governors to admit that, yes, there are occasions when you do need more big government in your life.

• It has shown again that unbridled greed can induce short-sighted businesspeople to cut corners and make decisions that endanger everyone, including their own shareholders.

• Finally, it has shown that our dependence on fossil fuels like coal and oil comes at a much higher price than what we pay at the gas pump or on electricity bills.

BP has had many missteps in dealing with this disaster, but the company seems to be accepting blame for the pain it has caused.

We’re still waiting for Goldman Sachs and America’s reckless big banks to do the same for wrecking the U.S. economy.

Something tells us we’ll be waiting forever for that.

The only thing we haven’t seen from BP is a detailed, long-term commitment to improve its safety and management practices.

The company has mouthed the right words about safety being job one, but its track record before this spill — both in the Gulf and in Alaska — has been the worst among major oil companies.

This company should not be allowed to sink another well until it has proven it can change its corporate culture and safety practices.

This must never happen again.

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