While many supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline project were worried that President Barack Obama’s decision to approve it or not would come only after much partisan wrangling and unnecessary delay, it turns out his decision was made prematurely instead.
The White House issued Obama’s announcement more than a month before the Feb. 21 deadline mandated in recent congressional legislation. Aware that the permit process was in danger of dragging on well past the November elections, House Republicans attached the deadline requirement to the payroll tax cut extension in order to force a decision on the issue before it became a political football. Unfortunately, the president’s decision ensured that the project will indeed be delayed – and will indeed remain an election issue.
