Obama's Tactical Indecision On the Keystone XL Pipeline

We've now learned that the President will put off his decision on whether or not to proceed with the Keystone XL, Canada-to-the-Gulf Coast, pipeline until after the 2012 elections. Many see this as another one of Obama's "present" votes which he had made so famous in his days with the Illinois Legislature. In reality, his indecision is the same as voting "no" without really saying it, because a year's delay will probably sink the project completely. The builder of the pipeline, TransCanada Corp., and the Canadian government aren't going to just sit around and wait for U.S. approval. Instead, they will redirect their efforts by building a truly trans-Canada pipeline that will carry oil to critical parts of Canada and to the Canadian coasts to supply tankers that are probably bound for places like China.

You see, the problem with the Keystone XL pipeline decision is the fact that no matter how Obama votes he's bound to fracture his own political base. If he votes "yes" to the project, the environmentalists will be angered. A "no" vote will be a slap against the unions who have been counting on the Keystone project as a source of thousands of high paying union jobs. By not making a decision, Obama feels like he has threaded the needle; keeping his base in tact.

But, to me, Obama has made a serious tactical error.

First, he's handed the Republicans three big "sticks" with which they can beat him over the head from now to the election. The first is all about jobs and the fact that thousands of jobs will be not be created at a time of such high unemployment. The second stick is the fact that we will become more dependent on imported oil from countries who are not our friends when, in fact, it would have been better off importing that same amount of oil from our friendly neighbor, Canada. Lastly, the pipeline would have had the added benefit of lowering the delivery cost of imported oil from Canada. A cost that would have eventually been reflected at the pumps with lower gasoline prices.

Then, too, the labor unions have to be angry about the delay. If the XL project is finally scrapped, that will only accentuate their anger.

This is another example of Obama putting his reelection bid ahead of the needs of the country. His own EPA issued a report stating that the environmental risk of that pipeline was miniscule. Yet, this President's anti-oil ideology and his concern over losing his environmental voting block has put the environment ahead of all other factors in delaying his decision. This is simply irresponsible and another reason why this man should be voted out of office next year.