Surprise: Obama to fast-track approval for Keystone pipeline’s, er, southern half

Hot Air ^ | March 20, 2012 | ALLAHPUNDIT

[Hojczyk]

President Obama plans to announce in Cushing, Oklahoma Thursday that his administration will expedite the permit process for the southern half of the Keystone XL pipeline, a source familiar with the president’s announcement tells CNN.

In January, the Obama administration denied a permit for the 1,700 mile long Keystone XL oil pipeline, which would stretch from Canada’s tar sands development to the U.S. Gulf Coast. That decision was met by persistent Republican criticism that the president has not been doing everything possible to create jobs and combat high gas prices…

Senior administration officials would not confirm the president’s plan to unveil the effort to cut red tape for the project, though one senior administration official acknowledged the need to deal with the glut of oil in Cushing, where oil from the Midwest hits a bottleneck as it is transported to the Gulf of Mexico.

Follow the progression here.

The polling on gas prices generally and Keystone in particular is horrific. No less than Bill Clinton gives a speech three weeks ago urging Democrats to “embrace” the pipeline.

McConnell forces a Senate vote on approving the pipeline and gets 11 Democrats to switch sides; so close is the final margin that The One himself is forced to lobby skittish Dems to stick with him.

And then that CBS poll drops last week showing his job approval suddenly in a tailspin, with gas prices the only obvious explanation.

He had to do something so this is what he did — a cosmetic gesture to help speed the construction by a few months of a pipeline that was always going to be built anyway. I bet it’ll help him in the polls, too. Coming soon: Obama signs executive order instructing IRS to send refunds to people who overpay their taxes.

[Texas resident]

Union construction jobs paid for with our tax dollars.
Then the construction unions can make large donations to baraq’s re election campaign.
Out in the open money laundering and no one makes a peep.

[bray]

The obamedia have been pushing the recovery story since he walked in the door while Bush had the worst recession in histoir. It’s all a lie.

Pray for America

[Buckeye McFrog]

You are correct, it is a curious half-measure. He has never been hesitant to throw his friends under the bus in the name of political expediency. And what are the envirowhacks gonna do, vote Republican? Completely reversing himself and building this thing would be the winner for him politically.

[Mr. Wright]

FUBHO - you had the chance to give your approval and f - - - - d it up. No deals, no second chances - KYBAG

[spokeshave]

Instead of a “bridge to nowhere”, Obama gives you a “pipeline from nowhere”.

Maybe he will authorize a high speed rail line on the N Keystone route....

So that his buddy Buffett can make more money transporting the oil.

[Rinnwald]

Wisest of the wise, President Obama outdoes Solomon by actually cutting the baby in half.

[srmorton]

I pray that you are right!