Unfortunately I think the decision will survive the election. Not because I think Obama will stick to his word, but because I don't think the Canadians will stick around waiting for a year. They have said that they could and would build the pipeline across to the Pacific and ship the oil out to China. Why should they wait a year to see what happens here?

...and approval of Congress overall into negative territory.

Congress has had below-50% approval ratings since approximately forever.

And yet, ninety percent of all congressmen get returned to office almost every election.

People hate Congress. But they don't hate their own congressmen.

"Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket." External Link 

If the Repubs aren't stupid, (okay, a stretch) the above should become as familiar to every American as the lyrics to "Happy Birthday to You."

Every time the monthly unemployment figures come out and show unemployment over eight percent, people should be reminded Obama killed thousands of actual shovel-ready jobs - along with a film clip of his claiming that there's no such thing as shovel-ready jobs.

When gas prices go up, people should be reminded Obama shot down the oil pipeline.

When Iran threatens to close the Straits of Hormuz, people should be reminded that Canada has never threatened to cut our oil off, ever.

And people should be constantly reminded that Obama prefers to have Canadian oil pumped onto Chinese tankers than to the U.S.

Love it. Follow it up with few Chinese refineries spewing black smoke and dumping waste into the Yangzte and title it "Obama's Environmental Policy"

Me likey. Any NRO readers on the left coast...?

"The White House revealed its true position in its jobs report last week, which gave shale natural-gas-production companies a giant wet kiss, saying these industries 'will boost investment and exports in the coming years, generating new jobs'."

Of course, the opposite may be true: Obama's veto may reveal his true intentions, hardened by a successful re-election bid, and this fodder Herman quotes may simply be lip service for Obama to prove he actually cares to see economic activity increase.

Alas, the same hard leftists whose parochial and narrow interests were served by this decision are the ones whose political agenda is geared entirely to dialing back economic activity not only in the US, but around the world. And Obama, as their ally-in-chief, just may share that goal, as he just advanced it.

It appears likely also that Herman is under the delusion that we have a conservative party here in America. The political advice he rendered stands no chance of being acted on by the GOP.

Apparently Nebraska does not have a final approved route yet. The government obviously cannot evaluate and approve a pipeline that does not have a route fully approved on the state level. When Nebraska evaluates and approves the final route on state level - the federal administration will approve it. The fact is that the Republicans are hurting the pipeline because they want to make it a political issue and push it at all costs before the election. The Republicans obviously do not care if the pipeline is approved or not - only care if they can make a political issue out of it!

"Bully" in TR's famous phrase "bully pulpit" does not mean "bully" as in "the bully in the school yard." Rather, TR's "bully" means, to quote Merriam-Webster, "excellent —often used in interjectional expressions "

So, does TR's famous phrase apply to the Senate? Were they speaking, persuading, using the excellent platform that they have from which to speak? Or were they the legislature using their legislative muscle to bully the president into a corner? I think more the latter, and good for them.