The big news of the day, aside from the idiot rally finally being back on full bore, is that the Obama administration finally pushed Canada's hand in telling it to sell its crude to China instead of the US, which we are confident it will gladly do. Much of this was largely priced on, as was the fact that opportunity for significant job creation was just kicked to the curb. What was not however expected, is that in keeping up with the fine tradition of taking responsibility for his decisions and actions, kinda sorta, America's president said that it was really the republicans whose fault it is that Keystone XL is now and will remain in its blueprint stages. From The Hill [10]: "Obama said he was not acting on the merits of TransCanada Corp.’s plan, but instead was forced to make the decision based on the “arbitrary” deadline mandated by GOP provisions in December’s payroll tax cut extension deal. "As the State Department made clear last month, the rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by Congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipeline’s impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment," Obama said in a prepared statement. “As a result, the Secretary of State has recommended that the application be denied. And after reviewing the State Department’s report, I agree,” Obama added. In other words, do you remember where you were when the republicans blocked the Keystone Pipeline?
Naturally, Republicans were not happy, and will use this faux pas to the fullest extent.
House Republicans blasted Obama for his decision to reject the pipeline at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
"President Obama is destroying tens of thousands of American jobs and shipping American energy security to the Chinese," House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said. "The president is selling out American jobs for politics.”
Boehner vowed to continue pushing for approval of the pipeline.
"This is not the end of the fight. Republicans in Congress will continue to push this because it is good for our country, it is good for the economy and it’s good for the American people," he said.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said Wednesday that he has invited Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to testify before his panel next week on the pipeline decision.
President Obama, while nixing the project, sought to show that he backs expanded oil-and-gas development.
“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,” Obama said.
“In the months ahead, we will continue to look for new ways to partner with the oil and gas industry to increase our energy security – including the potential development of an oil pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma to the Gulf of Mexico – even as we set higher efficiency standards for cars and trucks and invest in alternatives like biofuels and natural gas,” said the president.
“And we will do so in a way that benefits American workers and businesses without risking the health and safety of the American people and the environment,” he added.
The sad thing is that due to yet more political bickering, nobody is a bigger winner here than China and OPEC: precisely the two organizations that America should be most concerned about, and not who has how many votes where. But such is the terminal game of political marionettes which we have.
In the meantime, The Ogallala Aquifier will be appreciated in all its pristine beauty by ever more unemployed Americans, whose jobs skills petrify as most they remain without a job for a record 40+ weeks.