Obama Administration Won't Be Pushed on Keystone

Politico reports on the White House's refusal to "get ahead" on approving Keystone XL:

White House press secretary Jay Carney said the administration will not be pushed into making a hasty decision on whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.

More than half the Senate -- 53 senators -- signed a letter to President Obama on Wednesday urging quick approval.

"We appreciate input from lawmakers, but as you know, as is keeping with longstanding tradition, multi adminstrations, multi-administration tradition, these reviews are conducted by the State Department, and when the State Department concludes that process, we make, we’ll move forward," Carney said. "There will be a decision, but I'm not going to get ahead of that process.

The Globe and Mail probes today's confirmation hearing of Senator John Kerry, with Sen. Kerry likely to head the federal agency currently reviewing the Keystone XL project.  The article also focuses on environmentalists' hopes that the the inaugural address of President Obama--the ultimate decider on approving the project--signals aversion to the pipeline project:

Still, amidst the jibes and good wishes, Mr. Kerry’s views on climate change in general and Keystone XL in particular should provide a hint as to whether the President’s lofty rhetoric on cutting carbon will translate into political reality. Republican Senator John McCain, who, like Mr. Kerry, tried and failed in a bid for the presidency, joked that senators would use so-called enhanced interrogation techniques to make sure Mr. Kerry, was being forthcoming. “We will bring back, for the only time, water-boarding to get the truth out.”

Still, some expect Mr. Kerry to duck if and when he is quizzed about Keystone XL. In delaying a final decision until after the November election, the President sent the proposal back to the State Department for a revised assessment and Mr. Kerry may opt to await that outcome, expected in late March or April, rather than telegraph his views.
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But the final Keystone decision “will be made in the White House, not by the Secretary of State,” said Daniel Kessler of 350.org. Hence the delight among Keystone XL opponents after the President’s stirring vow to take action on climate change. “A failure to do so would betray our children and future generations,” said Mr. Obama of the need to stop global warming.

Mr. Kerry’s environmental advocacy stretches back decades and he was co-sponsor of the ill-fated Senate effort to introduce a cap-and-trade effort to curb carbon emissions. Along with his wife, Teresa Heinz, heiress to the food fortune, he wrote a book in 2007 called: This Moment on Earth: Today’s New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future.

While the approval this week by Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman of a new pipeline routing that avoids a sensitive underground aquifer, Keystone XL is now banking on the President and Mr. Kerry to block the project.

“You cannot say the words the President did in his inaugural address and then turn around and approve the pipeline,” said Jane Kleeb, who heads Bold Nebraska, a group opposed to Keystone. “The fight continues, even though Governor Heineman sided with a foreign corporation.”