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NYT's Nocera: Obama Rejected Keystone Pipeline 'Because He Had to Politically'

By Tom Blumer | February 08, 2012 | 19:11

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On Monday (appearing in the print edition on Tuesday, New York Times op-ed columnist Joe Nocera gave President Barack Obama a pass for rejecting the Keystone Pipeline. In the process, he also complained about "the way our poisoned politics damages the country," and, in a revelation which shouldn't but did surprise him, learned that far-left environmentalists want to stop all tar sands development and not just the pipeline. Imagine that.

Here are several paragraphs from Nocera's column (my comments are in italics):

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... I realize that President Obama rejected Keystone because, politically, he had no choice. My guess is that, in his centrist heart of hearts, the president wanted to approve it. But to give the go-ahead before the election was to risk losing the support of the environmentalists who make up an important part of his base. (And where were they going to go? -- Ed.)

I also understand that the Republican decision to force Obama’s hand was a political stunt, allowing them to denounce his decision during the campaign. As Jennifer Steinhauer put it in The Times recently, “Republicans are framing Keystone as an urgent jobs and energy project at a time of high unemployment and creeping gasoline prices.” (Uh, because it is "an urgent jobs and energy project at a time of high unemployment and creeping gasoline prices" -- Ed.)

... Surely, though, what the Keystone decision really represents is the way our poisoned politics damages the country. Environmental concerns notwithstanding, America will be using oil — and lots of it — for the foreseeable future. It is the fundamental means by which we transport ourselves, whether by air, car or truck. Where do we get that oil? Mostly from countries that don’t like us, like Venezuela, which has the world’s second-largest oil reserves. (But the President doesn't seem too concerned about that. -- Ed.)

... As it turns out, the environmental movement doesn’t just want to shut down Keystone. Its real goal, as I discovered when I spoke recently to Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club, is much bigger. “The effort to stop Keystone is part of a broader effort to stop the expansion of the tar sands,” Brune said. “It is based on choking off the ability to find markets for tar sands oil.” (Where have you been, pal? -- Ed.)

This is a ludicrous goal. If it were to succeed, it would be deeply damaging to the national interest of both Canada and the United States. But it has no chance of succeeding. (As long as Obama is in the White House, you can't rule it out -- Ed.)

Nocera wraps by writing that "at least one country in North America understands where its national interests lie. Too bad it’s not us." Oh, we know where our interests lie, Joe. President Obama either doesn't know, doesn't care, or is hostile to our interests. Which do you think it is, pal?

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.

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Comments

⇒ I get it

Submitted by Cool Arrow on Wed, 02/08/2012 - 9:47pm.

So the NYT opines that Obama has handlers to whom he answers?

Didn't we have this figured out all by ourselves?  We even knew the NYT knew it.

An admission like this is bound to slip out once in awhile.

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The Canadiens don't care too much.

Submitted by gopcongress on Wed, 02/08/2012 - 10:02pm.

The Canadians don't care too much. They got China to take all the contracts anyway.

This was strictly a political move to artificially jack up the price of oil, making Solyndra and other companies more appealing to the public. And gee, where are Solyndra and the other companies now? Laundering money back into the Democratic Party campaign fund.

"The news and truth are not the same thing." -Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

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Tree-huggers and pipelines

Submitted by Cool Arrow on Wed, 02/08/2012 - 10:17pm.

Inasmuch as pipelines are the safest mode of transporting oil, the tree-huggers would hate any decision that could diminish the opportunity for other transport to fail,

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Translation:

Submitted by hbnolikeee on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 12:18am.

Cause Du Wun puts his election before the good of the people. Where's the surprise?

hbnolikeee
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Excuse me?

Submitted by GW on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 10:48am.

"his centrist heart of hearts"

This guy at least got one clue about the environmentalists. That indicates he is capable of learning based on evidence. He needs another clue about Obama's "centrist heart of hearts".

"Unfortunately, some people use belief-based facts rather than fact-based beliefs." -Par for the Course on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 5:38pm
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Keystone Pipeline already exists!

Submitted by celator on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 11:51am.

This MSM coverup is really starting to tick me off. The Keystone Pipeline, all 2147 miles of it, already exists. Currently, the pipe line already carries crude and diluted bitumen from Alberta to several points in the US. This whole phony "environmental concerns" fight was settled long ago, when permitting for the existing pipeline was approved.

The current liberal radical environmental shootup by celebrity protesters is only for an extension of the existing pipeline to Texas refineries.

Right now, the Keystone Pipeline delivers to oil refineries in Illinois (serving the Chicago area) and oil distribution hubs in Oklahoma.

That the MSM refuses to inform us of the real situation is....not surprising.

"This is not your mother's Democratic Party"--Andrew Breitbart, CPAC, February 2012
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Indeed

Submitted by jon_torlin on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 12:31pm.

What it boils down to is that it's just one more way of trying to keep us from gaining any sort of edge on energy independence.

What needs to be done is to declare independence from this bogus potus and his phoney baloney government and just do it anyway.  He's all but declared war on the states for trying to do just that anyway.

-Jon

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