Layin' Pipe - President Obama Expedites "Part" Of Keystone

"I'm layin' pipe all night long. Layin' pipe. I'm workin' so hard"
                       - David Wilcox, Canadian singer/songwriter

Well, isn't that special! After first giving Canadian oil the middle finger wave, President Obama announced in Oklahoma that he was personally accelerating approval of 'part' of the Keystone Pipeline which would transport oil from Canada's oil sands to Texas.

The original decision to delay a decision until after the election was clearly influenced by environmentalists who were opposed to the pipeline and the president was loathe to throw away votes from such a vocal group. Who knew how many they might influence to vote against his reelection if his administration approved the pipeline?

But then a bad thing happened. Gas prices skyrocketed at the pumps.

Oops!

Clearly that wasn't a vote-getter so a new strategy was needed, one that showed the President was "on the case" but that wouldn't jeoporadize his position with the anti-Oil Sands activists.

And that is when he came up with this solution, a solution that only a politician could announce with a straight face and expect the world to accept as real and decisive leadership. The president would ensure that his administration would expedite approval of the bottom half of the pipeline, (the part that connects Oklahoma to Texas) but would delay a decision on the rest of the pipeline (the part that actually connects to where the oil is) until after the election.

That's like considering a new interstate with a bridge at the end but only actually proceeding to build the bridge. We have one of those in Quebec, Canada actually. An overpass out in the middle of a field. Years ago the Quebec government contemplated a new highway which required an overpass at one point. They proceeded to build the overpass but never approved the highway and so there it sits, a massive concrete and steel  lawn ornament in the middle of nowhere.

Now President Obama proposes to do the same thing.

The thing is that these mega-projects require absolute commitment or no commitment at all. You can't be a little bit pregnant as my dad used to say. You either are or you aren't. While I am a supporter of the Keystone Pipeline and think it is good for both Canada and the United States, I think it is absurd to approve building a small portion of it but delay a decision on the rest..

What's the point?

But then, this is politics not leadership and that is the point. Leadership has vision and focus. It builds consensus around issues and moves a nation forward. Politics blows like a leaf in the wind and decisions are made based on the latest polls or threats to reelection.

I'm not picking on President Obama. He isn't the messiah that some have tried to portray him to be, he's just a politician and like any politician, he is opportunistic, unfocused and visionless. We have more than our fair share of those up here in the Great White North and to be honest, I haven't seen or heard anything coming from the Republican presidential candidates that sounds any better.

And that's a shame.

We are countries desperate for real leadership. We are starving for long-term vision and desperate for politicians who can see beyond the next election, the next budget or the next news conference.

Remember that election promise about changing the way things were done, Mr. President? Here's the sad truth. Just as there is no way to get oil to your refineries in Texas without actually connecting to where the oil is, you can't honour your commitment to change by being the same as those you replaced.

We are also countries facing serious issues like energy distribution and while I'm not an engineer, I suspect that building a pipeline that has no guarantee of actually connecting to any oil supply doesn't offer much hope.

Neither does the thinking behind this decision. You can't be a little bit pregnant Mr. President. You either are or you aren't. True leaders, like expectant mothers, understand that.

 © 2012 Maggie's Bear

all rights reserved

The content of this article is the sole property of Maggie's Bear but a link to it may be shared by those who think it may be of interest to others