| MSNBC’S Joe Scarborough: “We haven't talked about one issue that on any other day we'd be talking about nonstop. A big policy decision yesterday by the Obama administration. I must say, I don't understand it for a lot of different reasons, but I'm going to let you guys comment on it. Keystone, the president killed the permitting for Keystone. And I'm just wondering, wouldn't this be a good issue for him to reach out to the middle on? Am I wrong about that?” Time’s Joe Klein: “No, the campaign this year is like the stupid Olympics. These guys -- Obama just made, I think, a very big mistake at a time when we have 9% unemployment, the one most important consideration in any political decision is jobs. And whether there are 2,500 jobs or 2,000 jobs, you go with it.” Scarborough: “What’s the motivation inside the White House? Because the president -- the president wants to win independent voters. He wants jobs, he wants more energy. What is the hold up here? Klein: “He wants his base.” Scarborough: “The base would not forgive him for this?” Klein: “College campuses, there’s a lot of environmental sentiment, this is a big issue.” Time’s Mark Halperin: “I don't think it's purely political. I think the president doesn't think this is the right -- that the country's ready to make the decision, primarily because of safety concerns. But I think it is reflective of the fact he has not brought the country together on controversial issues which he promised to do.” (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 1/19/12) WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT OBAMA’S MISGUIDED MOVE ON KEYSTONE Chicago Tribune: “Obama made a decision that will deny the U.S. a reliable source of oil. Note that Canada has never threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz. Obama made a decision that will cost the U.S. good jobs. He seems to think those jobs will still be there when he gets around to making a decision on the pipeline. But they may well be gone for good.” (Editorial, “Pipeline Politics: Misguided Obama Blocks Keystone Pipeline,” Chicago Tribune, 1/19/12) The Washington Post: “But, clearly, constructing the pipeline would still result in job gains during a sluggish economic recovery.” (Editorial, “Obama’s Keystone Pipeline Rejection Is Hard To Accept,” The Washington Post, 1/18/12) · The Washington Post: “We almost hope this was a political call because, on the substance, there should be no question. Without the pipeline, Canada would still export its bitumen — with long-term trends in the global market, it’s far too valuable to keep in the ground — but it would go to China. And, as a State Department report found, U.S. refineries would still import low-quality crude — just from the Middle East. Stopping the pipeline, then, wouldn’t do anything to reduce global warming, but it would almost certainly require more oil to be transported across oceans in tankers.” (Editorial, “Obama’s Keystone Pipeline Rejection Is Hard To Accept,” The Washington Post, 1/18/12) Laborers’ International Union of North America: “Instead of celebrating their victory by hugging a tree they should hug a jobless construction worker because they’re the ones who are going to need it.” (Laborers’ International Union of North America , “Job-Killers, 2; American Workers, 0,” Press Release, 1/18/12) · Laborers’ International Union of North America Called Obama’s Decision “Politics At Its Worst.” “‘The score is Job-Killers, two; American workers, zero. We are completely and totally disappointed. This is politics at its worst,’ LIUNA General President Terry O’Sullivan said. ‘Once again the President has sided with environmentalists instead of blue collar construction workers – even though environmental concerns were more than adequately addressed. Blue collar construction workers across the U.S. will not forget this.’” (Laborers’ International Union of North America , “Job-Killers, 2; American Workers, 0,” Press Release, 1/18/12) |
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