Obama Votes "Present" Again and 20,000 Jobs Go POOF!

After all, we really don't need to be importing inexpensive oil from our nearest neighbor:

The State Department insisted Thursday that the Obama administration’s plan to delay a final decision on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline until after the election has nothing to do with politics.

“This decision is based on the process that we’ve been going through,” State Department Assistant Secretary Kerri-Ann Jones told reporters on a conference call. “This is not a political decision.”

Jones said the White House played no role in the decision, though the State Department informed officials about their plan to reevaluate the proposed route, delaying a final ruling on the pipeline until after the election.

“The White House did not have anything to do with this decision except we consulted with them as we were moving toward it,” Jones said. “There was no effort to sort of influence our decision. It was our decision.”

The State Department announced Thursday that it will conduct an assessment of alternative pipeline routes through Nebraska, citing public concerns about the impact of the project in the environmentally sensitive Sand Hills region of the state. The Nebraska state legislature, for example, is in the middle of a special session aimed at changing the pipeline route.

“This message about the Sand Hills of Nebraska has been coming strong and with increasing intensity,” Jones said.

But proponents of the pipeline nonetheless alleged Thursday that the decision to review alternative routes was intended to prevent President Obama from having to weather the political fallout that would come with making a final decision on the project.

“President Obama is putting a far-left environmentalist agenda before jobs, the economy and national security,” Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) said in a statement.

This president's a coward. Make a decision. Do what's best for America...at least once during your only term.