The possible consequences of president Obama’s feud with the Saudis are now coming into view. The Hill says that Democrats may oppose his request to ease sanctions on Iran. “Key Democratic senators are weighing whether to break with President Obama on Iran after the White House pressed them to delay another round of sanctions on Thursday.”
The Senate Banking Committee had been expected to introduce new sanctions legislation next Tuesday and mark it up next Thursday, a Senate aide told The Hill. That timeframe is now in doubt after administration officials urged top staffers on the banking and foreign relations panels to hold off during a meeting at the White House on Thursday.
Money is said to talk and the Saudis have plenty of it. There’s few in the legislature who are averse to its call. The other way the Kingdom might get back at Obama is via oil prices. Carrie Sheffield in Forbes writes, “Obama’s Failed Saudi Relations Could Spike Oil Prices”.
The Obama administration’s strategic blunders with Syria and Iran have morphed into a diplomatic disaster with Saudi Arabia, a development that threatens the American economy should tensions escalate further and trigger a dramatic spike in oil prices.
In these circumstances Walter Russell Mead thinks approving the Keystone pipeline should be a no-brainer. “Keystone should be an easy choice, so what’s taking Obama so long?”
Well for one thing, Al Gore.
Andrew Restuccia at the Hill reports on the latest pronouncements of that eminent climatolist.
A fiery Al Gore urged President Barack Obama on Thursday to reject the Keystone XL oil pipeline, calling the controversial project an “atrocity.” …
Gore criticized the Canadian oil sands that the pipeline would carry, arguing that approval of the project would be akin to a desperate drug addict looking for fresh veins.
“Junkies find veins in their toes when the ones in their arms and legs give out,” said Gore, a vocal climate advocate who has previously used the drug addiction metaphor to describe Keystone. “We are now at the point where we’re going after these ridiculously dirty and dangerous carbon-based fuels. And we’ve got to stop that.”
Gore’s tirade was a far cry from Mead’s characterization of the advantages of acquiring more oil for America.
Canadian ambassador to the US Gary Doer reiterated his country’s support—and its need—for the Keystone XL pipeline on Tuesday. Doer appealed to North America’s desire for greater energy security, saying “it makes good sense to proceed with energy independence and go with Canada, go with your friend, your neighbor and your ally since the war of 1812…Do you want your oil from Venezuela or do you want it from Canada?”
There’s a clear economic rationale for approving the pipeline, which would transport oil from Alberta’s tar sands down to America’s Gulf Coast refineries. Building the pipeline would create jobs, and would certainly give the Canadian economy a boost by providing a cheap outlet to bring its heavy crude to the international market.
Nearly fell for that didn’t you. But Gore will set you straight. His passion and eloquence, not to mention his media acolytes will have most people convinced that putting gas in your car is like being a junkie, while being a junkie is not being a junkie. You’d be amazed at how many people realize that makes sense. As for the President’s decision, his past record suggests that he will make the worst of all policy choices.
He has a talent for it; the sort of person who will leave behind his rifle and then choose to go to Jurassic Park .
He’s the kind of fellow who will throw away the bag of pitons and rope when he’s climbed some sheer cliff on K2.
He’s the man who will fight tooth and nail against delaying Obamacare and then order its postponement when it turns out that $600 million dollars has bought him nothing but a vaporware insurance exchange.
Who but Obama could pick a fight with the Saudis and simultaneously increase his dependence on them?
He can do these things because he’s always been able to buy his way out of the morass with taxpayer money, something he does with great success by appealing to the credulity of his followers.
You might think no one could believe him. You would be wrong.
The ever dependable Harry Reid is ready to ably assist his every machination. Reid recently told a public radio interviewer that every right thinking person was eager to pay more taxes. “The only people who feel there shouldn’t be more coming in to the federal government from the rich people are the Republicans in the Congress,” Reid told the radio host. “Everybody else, including the rich people, are willing to pay more. They want to pay more.”
You were thinking that already, weren’t you? So run, don’t walk to the nearest post office and donate your month’s rent to the cause. And don’t worry.
With guys like these, how can you lose?
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