WaPo Poll: Obama's Keystone Rejection is Hurting Him with Voters

Registered voters overwhelmingly oppose President Obama’s decision to block construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline:

83% also believe permitting the XL will create a significant number of jobs, while 50% do not believe the pipeline will damage the environment. Those same 83% can reasonably be persuaded, if they aren’t already, that President Obama is literally standing in the way of job creation.

The XL decision harmed US interests and, from a political point of view, ought to become an albatross for the president. Put the two findings above together and President Obama is clearly vulnerable on this decision, which though he has tried to pin on Republicans, is clearly and unambiguously his.

Today, Iran is again threatening to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which most Saudi, Iraqi, Kuwaiti and UAE crude travels each day. The world economy is more vulnerable to Iranian threats in part because of Obama’s decision to block the Canadian XL. His decision has also driven Canada closer to China as it has been forced to become more skeptical of its alliance with the US.