President Obama says he will fast-track construction of the southern portion of the Keystone XL Pipeline, an ambitious energy project that is intended to transport oil from Canada in a snaking tube all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. Obama put the pipeline on indefinite hold earlier this year, claiming that Republicans in Congress were recklessly pushing the project forward without heeding environmental concerns. His latest concession is a move to defend his energy policies, which are under the klieg lights now that gas prices are soaring. But Republicans slammed Obama's support for the pipeline as a "publicity stunt." Is this about-face enough to convince voters that Obama's policies are energy-friendly?
Obama's position on Keystone is a joke: Obama's declaration is "the emptiest of gestures," says Investor's Business Daily in an editorial. He's taking credit for expediting the southern half of the pipeline, but it's the northern half from Canada that's important. That's the part that requires "State Department approval and a presidential blessing," which Obama withdrew in January. The Alberta oil sands in Canada contain "24 billion barrels of oil," none of which, thanks to Obama, will be reaching the U.S. anytime soon. Instead of "presidential hot air," let's just approve the whole project already.
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