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Obama will do nothing before the congressional elections and more of nothing after the elections regardless of the results

Knocking Obama off the Keystone Fence



Washington, D.C. – The time has come, says Canada and Big Oil, to speak Keystone to power.
Yes, it has – but don’t hold your breath. President Barack Obama is in no hurry. He has left Canada twisting in the wind for five years on the Keystone XL pipeline project that is of vital importance to the Canadian economy as well as the future tone and direction of Canadian-American relations. Love or hate the idea of still more oil consumption, both Canada/oil producers and the environmentalists concerned about the effect of burning fossil fuels have the right to more clarity about President Barack Obama’s intentions because only the president can grant or deny the crucial Presidential Permit for the pipeline to cross the border. It should be quite a show. Mr. Obama has had it his way up to now with his sitting on the Keystone pot, always responding to the needs of his political calendar and, not to forget, his unforgettable dedication to “the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.”

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Trouble is the election cycle never stops, with congressional ballots every two and a coinciding presidential election every four years. This time around it is the mid-terms in November Mr. Obama seems to have uppermost on his mind. Make no mistake, Big Oil, Canada and the environmentalists are losing their patience. Moreover, as every political observer and engaged citizen knows, the November outcome will determine whether Mr. Obama ends up as a mere lame-duck or a near-dead duck president. What will Mr. Obama do? Will he give the green light or will he step out of the twilight into the messianic vision of himself and the world? Seriously, this is a good question when you recall Mr. Obama’s June 3, 2008 nomination victory speech in St Paul, Minnesota. This is what he said: “Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it (his program and promises), and I believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs for the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal…” For semi-divine presumption Mr. Obama can hardly be outdone but the real problem is he shows hardly a sign of doubting his mantle. In the real world Mr. Obama is under the Keystone gun. Charles Krauthammer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post columnist and regular Fox News commentator spoke to power in his own voice. His January 24 column carried this sledgehammer headline: “Stop jerking Canada around.” For good measure Mr. Krauthammer reminded the president that “Canadians may be preternaturally polite” but they have had it with waiting and “China would buy their oil in a New York minute.” John Baird, Canada’s foreign minister, told business leaders in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in mid-January two weeks ago “we can’t continue in this state of limbo” and “the time for a decision on the Keystone is now, even if it is not the right one.” Christophe de Margerie, chief executive officer of Total, the huge French Oil company, told the Council on Foreign Relations “Future of Energy” forum back last October that Canada feels frustrated by how it is treated by its “former best ally.” The French oilman repeated his message for Mr. Obama in late January at the annual gathering of the world’s financial, political and media elite in Davos, Switzerland, less than three weeks ago. “It is up to United States to make the effort” because the “pipeline has to be done.” Even the mainstream media is getting involved. The New York Times trumpeted that the State Department’s Environmental Report on the Keystone “opens the way” to a decision. And on NBC’s Meet the Press last Sunday, talk show host David Gregory tried hard to pin down Secretary of State John Kerry on what his own document meant in real time. Mr. Kerry managed to weasel out no matter how often Mr. Gregory stressed the importance of the issue to Canada. E & E News, one of the energy industry’s organs, said tersely on Monday both sides “found hope” in the report but the “situation isn’t any clearer for Obama.” And Joe Oliver, Canada’s energy minister, hauled out the old hockey chestnut “stop dragging the puck". Meanwhile 10 senators – five Democrats and five Republicans, are pressing Mr. Obama to approve the pipeline. Lastly, the Washington Post repeated its editorial blessing today. And how is the president taking all this flack? He said earlier that he will “not be rushed.” White House officials lost no time pointing out that the Environment Protection Administration, the Energy Department, the Pentagon, the Commerce Department, national security and other agencies must concur with the State Department finding before the president makes his decision. This is where the Keystone rests in Washington. My best shot is he will do nothing before the congressional elections and more of nothing after the elections, regardless of the outcome. Mr. Obama, for all anybody knows, may kick the can down the road for his successor and pick up his self-enthronement as healer of the planet.


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Bogdan Kipling -- Bio and Archives

Bogdan Kipling is veteran Canadian journalist in Washington.

Originally posted to the U.S. capital in the early 1970s by Financial Times of Canada, he is now commenting on his eighth presidency of the United States and on international affairs.

Bogdan Kipling is a member of the House and Senate Press Galleries.


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