Keystone Cop

I am sure that you heard by now that the Obama Administration has rejected the permit application for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.  It is estimated that

[b]uilding the pipeline would bring over 700,000 barrels of oil per day and directly create 20,000 truly shovel-ready jobs. The Canadian Energy Research Institute estimates that current pipeline operations and the addition of the Keystone XL pipeline would create 179,000 American jobs by 2035.

The good news is that the pipeline will eventually be constructed.  It's just a matter now of how to reroute it through Nebraska.

President Obama issued this statement on his decision which included the following:

This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline that prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people.  I’m disappointed that Republicans in Congress forced this decision, but it does not change my Administration’s commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil.

Hmmm.  Arbitrary deadlines? It's true that Republicans did include a 60 day deadline in the payroll tax holiday legislation that was recently passed by both the House and (Democrat-controlled) Senate.  They were tired of the games, and they wanted the president to finally make a decision after he had been wanting to punt it until sometime after the 2012 election. 

And also, what about three year study that has already been completed by the Department of State regarding the pipeline?  Here is more on that study, which began when TransCanada, the corporation that will be building the pipeline, submitted their paperwork back in 2008:

DOS studied and addressed risk to soil, wetlands, water resources, vegetation, fish, wildlife, and endangered species. They concluded that the construction of the pipeline would pose minimal environmental risk. Keystone XL also met 57 specific pipeline safety standard requirements created by DOS and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The pipeline would be equipped with 16,000 sensors connected to satellite that would monitor the pressure of the pipeline.

So, it's not even about shovel ready jobs.  It's not about saving the environment from those evil pollution-loving Republicans.  It's all about the one job in the White House.